Blue Amps, Crimson Volts
by SilverEyeShinobi
Summary: Cole MacGrath thought the only thing he had to deal with was the Reapers and the Dust Men. But one startling phone call from Zeke tells him about the larger problem plaguing Empire City: a second and very evil lightning conduit.
1. Chapter 1: Red Lightning

**A/N: I just want to make a quick note saying that when I started writing this story, I was halfway through inFAMOUS. Thus, this story will follow the canon of the story just slightly. I've cut the canon battles short for all of you who played the game, but I think there's enough in it to help people who haven't played the game understand what's going on. I've since beaten inFAMOUS of course.**

**Anyway, this story picks up halfway through the first inFAMOUS. It doesn't totally follow the canon, but plot points are mentioned several times, woven into my plotline. The last plot point I went through in the game when I started writing this was rescuing Trish from the bus on the hospital roof. So it sort of picks up from there.**

**SPOILER WARNINGS****. This story of course contains spoilers for the first inFAMOUS. That's mainly the gist of the spoilers, but there is ****one spoiler for inFAMOUS 2****. I guess the inFAMOUS 2 spoiler depends on how you look at it, because it could be a spoiler, and yet it could be just a very convincing plot point for this story. But if you're really big on no spoilers, then don't read this story, because it's an ending spoiler. So yeah, it's a pretty big deal.**

**I also have to give a language warning. There's a bit of cussing here and there, but it's about the same amount of foul language as was in the game itself (the game being rated T so this will also be rated T)**

Blue Amps, Crimson Volts

Chapter 1: Red Lightning

Empire City.

Despite everything I've done so far, the city is still in shambles. Reapers and Dust Men are everywhere. Luckily for me, they hate each other, and they stick to their own districts instead of teaming up for world domination. Unluckily for me, they're both a pain in my ass.

"Cole!"

I slowed to a walk, seeing someone running towards me.

"Stop them! They're going to hurt somebody!"

My eyes immediately whipped towards the alley where the woman was pointing. I saw the flick of a cape and quickly charged after it. I dove around the corner, blue lightning flying from my fingertips towards the Dust Men. They fired their guns at me, and I flinched as the tiny pieces of metal went through me. I leapt at the nearest building and started scaling it as fast as I could, using windows and ledges to rapidly elevate myself towards the roof. The second I got there, I leaned against the chimney and put a hand over my wounds. Even through the fabric of my shirt, I could feel them healing faster than any normal human should.

Then again, I was hardly a normal human. Not since the Blast.

I walked to the edge of the building and peeked over the edge. Two Dust Men were right below me. I leapt over the side, channelling my electrical energy through my body, shooting downwards towards the concrete. With a loud _foom_, a shockwave burst from my feet, striking the Dust Men and sending them flying. I gave them a dull look before turning and heading out of the alley.

The citizens nearby were taking my picture and clapping. One of them suddenly looked frightened, making me turn back towards the alley to see a Dust Man raising a pistol.

_Skrrch!_ The lightning bolt hit him with a lot of force. So much that he went flying a few feet backwards and didn't get back up. I ran towards him, giving him a sharp kick in the head just to make sure he was dead.

My cell phone rang at that moment. Checking the caller ID, I concluded it was Zeke and flipped it open.

"What's up, Zeke?" I asked.

_Cole! Where are you?_

"I'm in The Warren. Why?"

_Dude, someone's tearing up Neon! I heard from someone it was you!_

"What?" I frowned. "What are you talking about?"

_Did you upgrade to red lightning?_

"Red lightning?" I was baffled. Yet, I didn't get a good feeling about it. What sucked even more was that I was far away from Neon.

_I'm serious man! Red lightning!_

"Where are you?"

_Back at the house!_

"Stay there." I looked up at the train tracks, watching the train whip by with an earthshaking rumble. "I'm on my way." I flipped the phone shut without waiting for a reply and leapt onto the support beam. I climbed it easily and effortlessly, ignoring the awestruck voices below me and the constant camera flashes.

I leapt onto the tracks and channelled electricity to my feet. I skidded along the rails like I was riding a skateboard like an ordinary human not a freak with lightning powers. I leaned forward slightly, increasing my speed. A few gunshots rang out and I felt a bullet or two pierce my body, but I ignored them. They were no more than bug bites to me nowadays. Especially since I was gone before they could get a good shot on me.

I leapt off the rails, heading for the bridge into the Neon. As I entered the Neon, the people there instantly ran like I was the plague. I frowned, not understanding why.

'_Dude! Someone's tearing up Neon! I heard from someone it was you!' _Zeke's words came back to me. Was somebody destroying Empire City in my name?

I leapt onto the support beams of the Neon's train circuit, unable to get the citizens fear of me out of my head. I didn't understand, but at the same time I didn't know if I wanted to understand. Electricity arced around me as I grinded across the tracks. Off in the distance, I saw a streak of crimson lightning. So Zeke wasn't kidding. There was someone...or something that was shooting off bright red electricity.

'_Dude! Someone's tearing up Neon! I heard from someone it was you!'_

My brow creased and I picked up the pace, spying my building off in the distance. I leapt off the tracks and fell towards the ground, sending electricity out of my palms to control my descent, landing softly without so much as a tap. A few citizens around me gasped and froze in their tracks. Some of them ran, but others just looked... wary? I tried to ignore it, but something about it sent a shiver down my spine.

I leapt at the building, climbing it quickly and easily, pulling myself onto the roof and stepping towards Zeke who was, as usual, flopped down on the couch, staring at the television.

"Zeke."

Zeke leapt up. "Cole! I didn't expect you to get back so quickly!"

"I didn't stop to smell the flowers this time, Zeke." I said sarcastically. He knew full well what I meant by that. It meant I didn't stop to help anybody, which probably wasn't good for my hero status in the city, but I thought it was necessary this time.

Especially if someone _was_ screwing with the city.

"Tell me what's going on." I ordered.

Zeke shrugged. "I don't know, man. I mean, red lightning? Something's not right about that."

"People were running from me, Zeke." I stated, sitting on the back of the couch facing away from the television. "I want to know why."

"Well I just heard a rumour, that's all."

"What's the rumour?"

Zeke looked a little uneasy. That made me nervous. Zeke was usually a tough guy. He never got nervous.

"Well, I heard a yell from up here. Someone shouted 'Cole's shooting up the train station! He's killing everyone!'"

My eyes widened slightly. "I've been in the Warren all day."

Zeke shrugged. "Yeah, so I heard. But really, Cole..." He eyed me carefully. "Show me your lightning."

I created sparks around my arm, showing him the blue lightning that was my trademark in Empire City.

Zeke still looked uneasy, even as he nodded. "So if it wasn't you shooting up the train station, who was it?"

A melody began to play.

"Oh great." I muttered. "What's the Voice of Survival got to say about me this time?" I turned around, facing the television, my eyes practically boring holes into the device.

"I don't know man. But after today's rumours, you'd be lucky if he said anything good."

"When has he ever said anything good?"

Zeke laughed. "Touché."

_Empire City! Where's your so called hero now? I caught sight of that light socket shooting up the local train station in the Neon! He blew up two passenger trains filled with people! This isn't a hero! This is a monster! It's time we made a stand! Voice of Survival out!_

Even after the broadcast ended, I continued to stare at the television in shock.

"Hoo, damn!" Zeke stated. "He really hates you now!"

"Tell me something I don't know." I growled.

"Maybe you should go check out the train station. You know...see if everyone's okay."

My brow creased again. That sounded like a decent idea, yet at the same time, it sounded utterly stupid. But I knew I had to get to the bottom of this, so I nodded and leapt off the building, hovering down towards the train tracks. If what the Voice of Survival said was true, then that explained why no trains went by in the last ten minutes.

I skidded down the rails, my anxiety higher than it had been since that first day with my powers. I didn't show my stress, however. I was a hero and heroes shouldn't have weaknesses. Well...Maybe I had one weakness. Water. Large, open bodies of water. I was a human toaster when it came to that. I fell in water, and my entire body short circuited. And believe me, that was painful. I know because I've fallen into water in the sewer a few times. It was like thousands of white-hot knives stabbing into my body all at once. Yeah. Not very pleasant at all. No, I'll never bathe again. Showers? Maybe. I haven't tried yet, and I kind of don't want to. I mean, we all stink here in this city, and if I electrocuted myself while taking a shower what good will that do?

I frowned at the sight of smoke off in the distance. I increased my speed, tearing towards the smoke and hopefully the bottom of this dilemma.

As I approached the disaster, my eyes widened. Two passenger trains were on fire. No firefighters to douse the flames either. They would just have to burn until they were ashes. I didn't have power over water. If I did, I wouldn't have that electrocution problem every time I so much as stuck a finger in it.

"Hey! It's Cole!"

Heads turned in my direction as I surveyed the damage, frowning at the inferno.

"Cole! Why did you do this?"

I looked towards the girl. She was about my age and looked totally terrified and upset at the same time.

"I didn't." I stated. "I've been in Warren all day."

The girl still looked uneasy.

"Do you know what happened?" I asked.

"All I know is that you came running in here, and blew up the whole train!" The girl cried. "You kicked me too!"

I frowned.

The girl lifted her shirt slightly, showing off a nasty bruise on her ribcage. Yeah that looked like something I did. Only one of my kicks could cause that much damage. She's lucky she's still alive.

I sighed. "I don't know what you saw today, and I don't know if I want to know what you saw. All I know is that I didn't do this-"

"Well if you didn't do this, then who did?" Someone else called out. I turned towards him, his face lined with anger as he glared at me.

"I don't know." I said honestly. My eyes snapped towards bright red lightning on top of a nearby building. "But I'm going to find out." I leapt off the railway and ran towards the building, launching myself up the wall and onto the roof. I looked around for the source of the lightning, but couldn't find anything.

This was a bad idea. I needed to help those people.

I leapt off the building again and hovered towards the train tracks. I caught the edge and pulled myself back up. "How many people are injured?" I asked.

The injured girl scoffed. "You're going to heal people now? As if. You're not coming anywhere near me." She walked away, a hand over her bruised side. I could tell it was paining her, but I wasn't going to help anyone who didn't want to be helped. It was a sort of protocol of mine. Trish taught it to me. She was an EMT, so she spent hours talking to me about her job before the Blast, saying that they couldn't treat anyone without their permission.

And it appeared as if I was helping nobody today. They all pretty much just limped off, not wanting anything to do with me.

My cell phone rang again. I looked at the caller ID to see 'Private Number'. I hated these calls. The caller was usually Moya. God I didn't want to hear from Moya right now, but if it was important, I had to answer.

I flipped the phone open. "Hello?"

_Hey Cole. Nice to finally talk to you._

I frowned. The voice sounded familiar, and yet it wasn't. It was like the voice of a long lost friend. I knew it was male, but I couldn't figure out where I've heard it before.

_How do you like what I did to the train station?_

"Who are you?" I growled into the phone.

_Oh you know...You've met me. In fact, you've seen me many times._

I didn't like the lilt to his voice. It sounded almost... taunting. Evil even.

_Catch you later._ The phone clicked off and the dial tone resounded in my ear. I clenched the device in my fist, resisting the urge to crush it. I didn't think I could crush it anyway, but I could probably make it explode.

I flipped the phone open, leaping back onto the train tracks and pressing Zeke's number on speed dial.

_Hello._ Zeke stated in a melodious tone.

"Zeke, if you ever answer the phone like that when I call again-"

_Whoa Cole, chill man. I just thought I'd cheer you up is all._

"You won't succeed. I'm on my way back."

_Dude...What happened back there?_

"I'll tell you when I get there." I snapped the phone shut and stuffed it in my pocket, leaning forward to increase my pace.


	2. Chapter 2: Seeing Double

Blue Amps, Crimson Volts

Chapter 2: Seeing Double

Another streak of lightning flashed from my hand, exploding the surveillance equipment on the side of the building. It was always such tedious work, destroying this surveillance crap, but it had to be done. I was the hero of this city. I had to do everything I could to keep its citizens safe.

I jumped down, slowing my fall and landing softly. I merely glanced towards the cameras flashing in my direction. I looked up at the building, searching for anything that blinked red every second or two. I did this while walking around the building, scanning it to make sure all was well. Then I headed towards the person who had requested I destroy the surveillance equipment in the first place. He thanked me profusely.

It had been a grand total of three days since the train incident. There was no sign of the red lightning anywhere, which I took as a good sign. Especially since I was beginning to get the peoples trust back. I didn't know what I'd do if another incident like that occurred.

My phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and smiled. It was Trish. Since the Blast, she never called me. If she did, she never had anything good to say, only asking that I help her with this and that. Of course, I still loved her so I couldn't refuse anything she asked.

Then I rescued her from the bus that had gotten thrown up onto the hospital roof by a conduit named Alden. Since then, we had gotten back together. Let's just say after that I felt even more like a hero. Save the world, and get the girl. Thank you, cliché.

I flipped the phone open. "Hey."

_Cole!_

I flinched slightly. She sounded...angry.

_What the hell are you playing at?_

"What are you talking about?" I ducked into an alley so I could have privacy. I was getting too many weird stares.

_Don't play dumb Cole! You know what you did!_

I frowned. Oh hell...not this again. Please not this. Anything but this. The mysterious chatter about me doing something I didn't. "All right, so it may have slipped my mind. Refresh my memory."

_Cole, you...you..._ Trish paused, breathing heavily on the other side of the phone. She was angry, and I didn't want to make her angry. Not just because she was my girlfriend either, though that was the main reason. She was also an EMT, and I might need her to get me out of a NDE or something. I didn't know what had happened, but unless I'm totally insane and forget about everything bad that happens to this city, I didn't do it.

"Trish, if this is about the train, I swear I didn't-"

_This isn't about the train!_ Trish cried. I could hear her crying on the other side of the phone.

I sighed. "Trish," I stated, keeping my voice soft. "Where are you?"

_Cole, don't talk to me like that right now!_

"Fine. Then where are you?"

She scoffed. _After what you did, there's no way I'm telling you where I am. Forget it._

"Then why did you bother calling?"

_Because I'm telling you it's over._

I could swear the world went black at that moment. "Trish, what did I do?"

_It doesn't matter! Just get out of my life! I don't want to see you anymore, you monster!_

I flinched. Monster?

There was a snapping noise, and the dial tone hummed in my ear. I sank to the ground, staring at the cell phone in my hand still in a state of shock. What had happened? I'd never heard Trish so angry before in my life. No, she wasn't just angry. She sounded...upset, and betrayed all mixed into one. If she had just told me what happened, I might've been able to help her solve who did it. She seemed so sure that it was me though, and I haven't seen her in a week.

I stood up, remembering that I was the hero in this city. Nobody wanted to see their hero moping over the loss of a girlfriend. That would make their beloved hero less heroic and more...normal? I didn't even know what was normal anymore.

I thought about that as I walked down the street, healing anybody that wanted to be healed. Nowadays, normal was walking through destroyed streets, digging through garbage cans for half-rotten food. For me, normal was helping the citizens of Empire City in any way I could. Zeke was the one who did the garbage can digging, thank god for that. I didn't think I could stomach such things. Then again, I'd never tried. Before the Blast, I had the weakest stomach ever. In grade 11 bio, I threw up when we dissected the disgusting pig thing. Yup. That was me. Cole-the-Terminator threw up in bio. I was a laughing stock for days. Especially Trish. She never let me live it down.

My face fell. Trish. Why did everything come back to her?

I shook it off, returning to my original train of thought. Because now, I didn't have to worry about dissecting fetal pigs. I had to worry about blood, guts and dead bodies all over the street. At first, I was cringing at the whole thing, but now it was a fact of everyday life. I can almost guarantee I could go back and dissect the pig thing without batting an eyelash.

I looked up, realizing where I had walked to. My building. I climbed the structure mechanically, still numb from Trish's phone call.

"Oh hey Cole! You're home early." Zeke commented.

"Yeah." Was all I could say.

"Sheesh man, what bit you in the ass?"

I gave him a dry stare.

"Uh oh. Did someone yell at you?"

"Yeah, Trish."

"Trish? Really? What did she say?"

"She broke up with me." I sat down on the back of the couch.

"Say what? Over a train?"

"I...don't think it was about the train."

My cell phone rang. I didn't bother looking at the caller.

"Hello?" I spat bitterly, hoping that if it was Moya, she'd hang up now and disappear for the next twenty four hours.

_Well hey Cole._

I gritted my teeth. It was that voice again. "What do you want?"

_Nothing really. Just called to say hello._ The man on the other side of the phone chuckled. I was getting shivers from the lilting tone of his voice. It made me think of Sasha just slightly, although her voice gave me the creeps.

"Who are you?"

_Didn't I tell you? Aw, I thought for sure you'd have figured it out by now._

"Stop playing around! Who are you?" I roared. Zeke was looking at me like I was insane.

The man chuckled. _I'll see you around, Cole._

"Wait a second! Don't you-" _beeeeeeeeeee_ "FUCK!" I nearly threw the phone off the building. If I had hair, I had no doubt in my mind I would've pulled on it until I ripped it from my scalp.

"Cole, what the hell was that?" Zeke asked, his eyes wide. In good reason too. I looked at my hands to see the electricity sparking around my palms in my anger. I tried to restrain it, but found that I couldn't. Then it hit me. I was under a hell of a lot of stress at the moment, and because of it my power went screwy. I couldn't control my power as effectively as I could when I was feeling a strong emotion, anger for one. I was stressed out, and I didn't know how to handle it. All I really knew was that stress wasn't healthy, and kicking some Reaper ass was a very good cure for it. It even sounded really appealing at this point in time. Shame they never show up when you're looking for them.

"Cole?"

I looked up at Zeke, finally getting my anger under control.

"What was that?"

"I don't know." I stated. "But the same person called me while I was by the trains. He said he was the one who blew them up."

Zeke seemed to process this for a moment. "Cole, what are the chances there are...two of you?"

I looked at him in surprise. "Two of me?"

Zeke shrugged. "It's just a thought. But I mean if you've got lightning powers now, anything is possible, right?"

"So you're basically saying I have an evil twin."

Zeke snorted. "Okay now you made it sound stupid."

"You're making yourself sound stupid." I looked away, thinking about that. What if I did have an evil twin? I snorted to myself and shook my head. No way. There was no way. Unless of course pigs have just sprouted wings and are now flying through the air right this very second. Then again, I'm the human circuit board.

...

Even three days after Trish broke up with me, she stayed true to her word. She never called me and whenever I looked for her, even at the hospital, she wasn't around.

I decided that my moping wasn't good for anyone and just put her out of my mind, even though it hurt to do so. I continued to restore The Warren, ridding the areas of Dust Men whenever I got the chance. Half of the time however, I just ran because too many bullets could very well kill me and I was no use to anyone dead. That was especially true when they were on top of buildings. I could never find those bastards, and I was blacking out before I realized I was getting shot to death.

"Cole?"

I looked towards the voice. He had the most baffled expression on his face.

"Is there something wrong?" I asked.

"Weren't you just over there?" He pointed down the street.

I frowned. "No."

'_Cole, what are the chances there are...two of you?'_

"Shit no." I ran in the direction the man had just pointed. Then I saw it. A streak of red lightning shooting across the train tracks.

I leapt up at the support beams, and climbed onto the tracks. I jumped onto one of the rails, skidding along as fast as I could, encouraging myself to move faster. I could see the red lightning, so close, yet so far. I couldn't make out who it was, but the scary part was the lightning. There was someone else in this city with lightning powers, and they weren't using them for good.

The red lightning seemed to be getting smaller. I gritted my teeth, leaning forward and increasing my speed as much as I could.

Then I heard screams. I saw flashes of lightning, oddly like my own blue lightning. Except it was red. That was the main difference. Then a bright red wave of swirling electricity whipped in my direction. I cried out, getting blowing backwards off the rail.

What the hell...That looked like...

"Shockwave?"

I opened my eyes to see the red lightning user standing on top of the train station roof. The sun was behind the person, putting glare into my eyes and silhouetting the form. I couldn't make it out, but that voice... It was the same voice I heard twice over the phone.

"You..." I growled.

He laughed. "I've been waiting for this moment, Cole." The red lightning arced around his arms and I leapt up, rolling away as fast as I could before sending a ball of powerful electricity in his direction. He too leapt away, landing on the train tracks and sending his own attack in my direction.

I flinched as several balls of electricity flew in my direction. They struck me. Hard. It sent me flying, and I hit the concrete below painfully. I am so glad I heal really fast.

"I'm very disappointed, Cole."

"Oh shut up..." I sat up, searching for that damned man. Who the hell was he anyway?

"I expected more from Empire City's big hero."

I turned around, raising my electrified palm in his direction. My eyes widened in shock. No fucking way.

'_Cole, what are the chances there are...two of you?'_

Very likely, Zeke. Very likely. Unless I was totally hallucinating, this guy was my identical twin, probably right down to the birthmark on my shoulder.

"Surprised?" He asked, a twisted grin on his face.

"Why?" I whispered.

"Why what?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Why are you killing people?"

He laughed. "Because I'm evil."

"That's no excuse!" I cried, throwing a compact ball of explosive electricity at him. He just used shockwave, deflecting it back in my direction, requiring me to roll the hell out of the way before it blew up.

"You can't beat me, Cole."

"Shut up." I snarled, standing back up.

"I'm the same as you."

"No you're not."

He smirked. "We have the same powers. And mine are better."

"You shut up. Leave the city alone."

"And why would I do that?"

I gritted my teeth. This piece of shit needed to die. I didn't know how I was going to do it either.

Unless I beat him to death.

I leapt at him, throwing a punch at his head. He leapt out of the way and threw a kick at me. I grabbed his foot and yanked him towards me. He fell, a look of shock on his face as I stepped on his chest.

"Who the hell are you?" I snarled.

He laughed. "Are you going to kill me, Cole?"

I raised my hand threateningly, electricity sparking across my fingertips.

"Ooh I'm so scared!" He taunted, a twisted grin on his face.

I growled and restrained him with my electricity. Now he wouldn't try to kill me while I interrogated him.

"I asked you a question. Who the hell are you?"

"Isn't it obvious, Cole?" He asked, the twisted grin still on his face. "I'm you." With a sharp snap, he broke free of the restraints and punched me in the face. Our scuffle on the concrete broke into a full out wrestling match in which we both got hit an equal number of times.

"You're not me," I snarled, slamming my hand into his chest and sending a jolt of electricity into him. Apparently he had the same idea. The electricity exploded from our palms and we both went flying backwards. My heart beat erratically, protesting the sudden jolt. I put my hand over it to hopefully steady its whacked out rhythm. I looked up and was satisfied to see the other me doing the same thing.

I breathed heavily, my heart not ceasing its erratic rhythm. I pulled myself up using the nearby fence. He was still on the ground, so I limped towards him, ready to blow his brains out. This city didn't need a second Cole MacGrath. Especially not an evil one.

Then just like that, he grinned and leapt up, giving me a sharp kick in the face. The impact sent me sprawling back onto the concrete.

"Thanks for the fight, Cole. I'll be sure to pay your girlfriend another visit." He grinned and began running away.

"No!" I cried. Then I froze. He was the one who hurt Trish. It all made sense now. The rumours that I was destroying the city...

None of them were lies. They were all true.

Because there were two Cole MacGraths in Empire City. The other one was evil.

And hell, that wasn't a good thing.


	3. Chapter 3: Taking Action

Blue Amps, Crimson Volts

Chapter 3: Taking Action

As soon as I had that epiphany, I leapt back onto the train tracks, heading for home. I had to warn Zeke. But first, I had to tell Trish. It wouldn't sit well with me if I didn't.

I hit her number on speed dial, praying she would pick up. I wouldn't call her for no apparent reason after our breakup, and I hoped she would understand that.

_I don't care what you say, Cole. I'm not getting back together with you!_ Trish answered the phone angrily.

"That's not what I was going to say!" I cried, sighing as she went silent. "Trish, I need a favour from you."

_Oh? And what would that be, Cole?_ She spat out my name with an almost mocking tone.

"I want you to tell everyone you know that if they see me, not to approach. Tell them to never trust me unless they see blue lightning."

_Hah! You won't have to worry about that. I'll never trust you again!_

"Trish I'm being serious here!" I cried. "Look, there are two of me, all right?"

_Say what?_

"There are two Cole MacGraths in Empire City."

_Has someone hit you in the head too hard?_

"I wish that were it. But I saw him, Trish. There's another me in the city. He's got red lightning. Please believe me."

Trish went silent.

"You've met him, haven't you?"

_I'm not getting back together with you_

"Good. At this point in time I wouldn't have it any other way."

_...What?_

"I mean it, Trish." I paused, awkward silence filling the phone line. "Please, tell as many people as you can not to trust me unless they see blue lightning."

_Oh and I suppose I should also say if they see red lightning run for their lives?_

"If it'll float your boat, yeah." I stated, ignoring the sarcastic tone to her voice.

_Fine._ And she hung up without another word. I sighed, flicking my phone shut. Women. I would never understand them. She hates me, then she loves me, then she hates me again.

"Cole! Cole!"

I looked towards the person running towards me.

"These people are hurt! Please help them!"

I was the good guy, but they didn't know that. I walked over to the injured people and healed them. I didn't quite understand just what it was about it that worked. It might be channelling electricity into the cells to energize them making them regenerate faster? Yeah that's my best guess.

"Thank you." The people said. Then they began taking pictures of me.

All right. I asked Trish to do it, so it was only fair I do it too.

"All of you, listen up." I stated.

They seemed to freeze, as if unable to believe their hero actually had a voice or something.

"Don't ever trust me unless you see blue lightning."

They seemed kind of dumbstruck.

"Don't bother trying to figure it out, just do it all right? And if you see red lightning, do whatever you want just don't go anywhere near me. Okay?"

They nodded almost numbly.

"Tell everyone you know that."

They nodded again.

I gave them a nod and leapt up onto the nearest building and climbed it. No awestruck voices today. That was good. So my message struck home.

...

When I arrived back at my place, I told Zeke about the evil me. Zeke found it quite amusing.

"So I was right! What do you have to say about that?" Zeke asked.

"Zeke, this isn't a game."

"Say it, Cole!"

I gritted my teeth.

Zeke cupped his hand around his ear. "I can't hear you!"

"Fine. You were right."

Zeke nodded in satisfaction. I was ready to smack that smug smirk off his face with a palm of lightning.

"Hey Cole."

"What?" I growled.

"What if we call him...Eloc?"

"Eloc?" I frowned. "What the hell is that?"

"It's your name spelled backwards, man!"

I cracked my knuckles. "I don't want that bastard to have anything to do with me."

"Well I'm sorry to say it Cole, but if he really is your evil twin-"

"Zeke." I warned.

"Okay okay, so if he really looks like you, then he's got your name anyway, so..."

"He won't be around long enough to utilize my name." I growled. "I'll fucking kill him."

Zeke didn't reply to that. I didn't want him to. And I didn't stick around to wait for the reply either.

...

I've never been afraid of heights.

But while I dangled high above the concrete in a tower made of junk on a rusty I-beam, I was having some serious reconsiderations. If I fell from here, would I survive?

I snorted, shaking my head. Yeah I would survive. I had my gliding ability to soften my fall if I fell. Plus, being a conduit myself, I could survive almost anything.

Key words there: Almost.

I hovered towards another rusty I-beam and grabbed onto it, sliding down a few feet. I cringed as a few pieces of sharp metal stabbed into my palm. I pulled myself onto a horizontal I-beam and examined my wounds. The rusty shard literally dropped from my hand. I watched it fall for a second or two before looking at my palm again, watching my skin heal over.

"Yo! Cole! Hurry it up!"

I started slightly. Zeke.

I jumped back onto the vertical I-beam and climbed it before leaping towards the next one. A few Dust Men shot at me, so I blasted them with lightning and threw explosive electricity just to make sure none were hiding behind that damned crate. I leapt onto the platform, happy to have stable ground beneath my feet. Or at least...as stable as stable ground can get two hundred feet above the freaking concrete.

I blasted a shockwave towards a fan, bringing the elevator up with Zeke standing on it. I could still remember John's words. He told me to meet up with someone I could trust and nab the Ray Sphere. Then we would have to destroy it. Zeke was the best choice. He was like my brother. A really annoying brother, but he was still my brother all the same. We had met in high school and since then, we were inseparable. The Dynamic Duo, Cole and Zeke. We landed ourselves in detention multiple times too. Teachers hated us, and the principal? Well let's just say he didn't trust us. But I don't care what they say, Zeke is the one that pulled all of those stunts. I just happened to be there when he did them so I got in trouble too.

"Hoo, we're really high up aren't we Cole?" Zeke asked, peeking over the edge and taking a few safe steps back.

"No shit Sherlock." I rolled my eyes. "It's a tower of junk and we've been climbing it."

Zeke looked a little abashed at my harsh tone. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing." I stated.

"Oh I get it!" Zeke started to laugh. "You're afraid of heights aren't you?"

I shot Zeke a look. "I am not." I growled. "I climb buildings all the time. This is nothing."

Zeke raised an eyebrow.

I sighed then walked over to the edge, standing on my toes and leaning over just slightly.

"You're shaking, Cole."

I glared at him. "Only because I know that if I fall I'll have to climb this scrap heap again and I don't really want to do that."

"Admit it. You're scared."

"I am NOT!"

Zeke raised his hands at the sight of my furious expression. Oh he'd better start running for his life. Electricity sparked from my hands without my saying so, and I had a feeling if he said something else, I would taser him until he begged for forgiveness.

When Zeke and I finally reached the top of that trash heap, the first thing I saw was the glowing blue orb known as the Ray Sphere. It was a fascinating and oddly...beautiful? Object. That was the thing that had given me my powers. That was the thing that could make an ordinary human turn into a human circuit board. That was the thing that could do all that, and kill hundreds of thousands of people at once. That thing was a weapon of mass destruction. It had to be destroyed.

"Hoo wow. That's the Ray Sphere?" Zeke asked when the elevator came up.

"Yes." I stated.

Zeke couldn't take his eyes off the Ray Sphere. He seemed almost hypnotized by the blue glow it gave off.

"Zeke."

Zeke looked back at me. "Oh sorry man." He glanced at the sphere one last time. "So are we going to destroy this thing or what?"

I nodded, stepping towards the sphere.

...

I should've seen it coming.

As soon as I approached the sphere, Alden appeared. He screamed something about taking what was his and something about destiny, but all of that was lost to me as the battle began. I fought his trash monsters with everything I had, eventually defeating them.

"Zeke! Get the sphere!" I cried.

And boy did Zeke get the sphere.

I held off another trash monster while Zeke pulled the sphere from its cradle. But just as I defeated the golem, I saw the look in his eyes. The hungry, longing look.

"ZEKE!" I cried, running towards him.

He looked up at me. I knew at that moment he had made his choice. He was going to kill thousands. All just to gain power like me. He activated it, but there was a malfunction. Internally, I breathed a sigh of relief but on the outside, I was furious.

"ZEKE!" I yelled. "What the fuck are you doing?"

Just then, he appeared. Kessler. He told Zeke that if he gave him the Ray Sphere, he would give him powers just like mine.

Shit.

Zeke took the bait. He merely cast me a regretful look in my direction before joining Kessler.

"ZEKE!" I screamed after him. But it was too late. He was gone.

Alden let out a furious cry and the tower of junk he had built began to topple. I leapt from the tower, falling towards the ground faster than I had ever fallen before. I reached terminal velocity. I knew I had. When I passed the roofs of one of the tallest buildings in the Warren, I activated my thrusters, hovering towards the ground. I looked back up at the tower and sighed.

Zeke.

How dare you.

...

I got the brunt of Johns' fury. He lectured me over the phone while counting down the number of seconds he had before he had to hightail it out of wherever the hell he was.

"I'm sorry, John. Zeke...I didn't think he would betray me." I stated.

Unfortunately, I knew the damage had been done. I was such a fucking idiot. Zeke had always told me how cool my powers were and how much he wished he had them too, but I always thought that was just the talk of a best friend wanting to help me out. Now I knew. Zeke had wished with all of his being that he could have powers too.

"Zeke, you bastard." I growled. I put my foot through the television he had always watched. I'm happy to say the whole thing short circuited with satisfying pops and crackles. Never again. Never again would I trust that asshole.

"Aw, what happened to your friend, Cole?"

I whipped around to see the anti-me sitting on the couch. I had no idea when he had showed up, but I didn't feel like finding out.

"Get lost." I snarled, electricity sparking from my fingertips.

Evil me laughed. "And waste an opportunity to talk to you? I don't think so."

I fired lightning at him, sending him sprawling. He stood up and fired his red lightning at me. I whipped out of the way as fast as I could, ducking behind the couch. He sent a shockwave towards me, sending the couch flying, nearly taking my head off and destroying all of the televisions Zeke had collected in the process. I honestly could care less. There wasn't anything on TV anyway. There never was.

"Are we really going to fight here, Cole?" Evil me asked with a grin. "Where so many people could get hurt?"

I jumped at him, my fingers wrapping around his throat as we tumbled off the side of the building. Evil me's face was twisted in fury as he tried to pry my hands off. I focused my electricity through my body again, slamming into the ground creating a shockwave of electricity.

Evil me merely coughed up blood, so I knew I had to work a bit harder to kill the bastard. So I punched him in the face with my electrified fist, over and over and over again.

A wave of red lightning slammed into me, sending me flying off him.

"I'll see you later, Cole!" He spat, his face twisted in fury.

I rushed him, electric blades springing from my hands.

Evil me turned and ran. I pursued him, but a wave of Reapers rushed into the alley. I cursed and threw a shockwave at them, defeating each one as fast as I could. They were all down in seconds, but the anti-me was gone.

"FUCK!" I punched the wall, cracking a few bricks but damaging my knuckles, hearing them crunch painfully against the brick. Today was not a good day.


	4. Chapter 4: Bad Omens

Blue Amps, Crimson Volts

Chapter 4: Bad Omens

One thing that disturbed me for days after the last incident with anti-Cole MacGrath was the impeccable timing of those Reapers. It gave me this terrible, horrible feeling that he was running with the bad guys. It didn't surprise me. The main thing I worried about was _who the hell was he running with_?

My mind screamed Sasha. I cringed at the thought of _myself_, okay, anti-me, running with Sasha. I knew how...obsessed she was with me. If she had gotten her hands on anti-Cole MacGrath, why that would be the next best thing to getting the real Cole MacGrath.

I shuddered. Yeah. I could see it happening. And I didn't like it one bit. The bastard. The only good thing that came out of it was that hopefully now, Sasha would leave me the bloody hell alone. Until I killed her that is. Her and the anti-me as well as Alden. And let's not leave Kessler out of this.

Every day for the next few weeks I waited for evil Cole to show up. He never did, which I'm happy to say. That meant he was keeping his nose out of Empire City. That was good for me, and my reputation. The only reason I found it not good was simply because it gave him more time to chill out with whoever the hell he was hanging with and plot the destruction of Empire City. God forbid it be with Sasha. I couldn't stomach that. Freaky bitch. Then again, both of them were twisted out of their minds. They were perfect for each other.

I twitched. But evil Cole was still Cole. I didn't even remotely like thinking about it.

I violently shook my head, ridding myself of the unspeakable thoughts.

...

Alden escaped. I defeated him and his massive freaking trash monster, but he destroyed the bridge to the Warren in the process. He then jumped. Wonderful. If I saw him again, I would be sure to blow his brains out. It didn't help that I couldn't follow him anyway. Not into the bay of death. And by death I mean H2O.

Now I was in the Historic District. Man this place brought back memories. Not all of them were good either. This was where the Ray Sphere had detonated, giving me my powers. I had yet to find ground zero, but I had a feeling it was in that area where the power was out. I didn't look forward to going in there. I didn't care whether my powers increased with every new circuit restored, just getting there was the worst headache of all headaches. My head just wouldn't stop spinning from the lack of electricity.

I didn't have to worry about that now anyways. What I did have to worry about were these new goons. Why were there three different gangs in each district anyway? Neon had the Reapers, Warren had the Dust Men, and now the Historic District had gas mask wearing freaks called the First Sons. It didn't help that from a distance they looked exactly like the citizens. I had to really work to not hit anybody with my lightning. I have to admit though, sometimes accidents happen. Like the time I stepped in a puddle and electrocuted a poor man who happened to walk through it at the same time as me. I still feel bad for that.

I blasted a First Son with my lightning before kicking the bastard in the face. The sun was beginning to set so I would need to find a place to lay low and rest up. Especially considering I was totally drained from the battle with Alden. So? I had to go find myself a rooftop or something. That way I wouldn't be disturbed by citizens looking for help and hopefully the First Sons wouldn't find me either. As bad as I felt leaving the citizens to their own devices, I was still human...at least I think I was.

I climbed a nearby building, checking out the area for a suitable place to lie down and sleep. I found it on a lower roof in a dark shaded corner of the same building. I pulled my bag off my back and used it as a pillow before pulling the hood up on my sweater. Cole MacGrath was conking out for the night. Do not fucking disturb.

...

Unfortunately at the time, sleep was extremely hard to get. Why? Because the second my head hit my makeshift pillow, my brain went haywire. I thought about everything that had happened to me since the blast, all in chronological order.

I remembered waking up in that crater, in more pain than I had ever been in my life. I was in so much pain, I couldn't cry, couldn't breathe, couldn't anything. But the second I started to move and began running for my life to get the hell out of there, the pain was replaced by adrenaline and endorphins. I remember getting struck by electricity several times over, my entire body convulsing from the amps. But I didn't die. Somehow, I didn't die.

I remember running across the bridge after Zeke and passing out in the Neon. I remembered waking up in the hospital, Trish standing over me looking worried, Zeke not too far away.

Then came the day my hands first began sparking off that electrical energy. The panic I had felt. I didn't know what was happening to me. I was scared to death. What the hell was this? Why did I have electricity coursing through me? What the hell was going on? Why was this happening to me? _How_ did this happen to me?

I looked at my hand, watching the electricity jump between my fingertips. It was fascinating to watch. It was impossible to predict where the blue light would jump next, and before you could predict it, it had already jumped. I clenched my fist, bringing it closer to my chest, making myself as small as possible. I wanted nobody knowing it was me curled up in this pathetic corner here. And I wanted nobody to see me. Mainly, I didn't want the First Sons seeing me.

I thought about Moya. Damned liar. Married to John? As if. I didn't know why I was so quick to believe John over Moya. There was just something I trusted about John. John wanted to destroy the Ray Sphere while Moya just wanted me to learn about it. That's how I knew she wanted it for herself. It just didn't feel right to me at all. Besides, I didn't trust the Feds. They weren't doing anything to help this city.

I still remembered the day I first met Moya. It was the day Zeke and I tried to bust out of the quarantine. All those people were killed in the last ditch effort to get the hell out of Empire City. Zeke and I had been the only survivors. How Zeke made it through without so much as a scratch, I have no idea. I could understand myself being a conduit and all, but Zeke was an ordinary human being.

I managed to break through and speak to Moya. She wanted me to help her and in return, she would get me out of the quarantine. Now I knew I was stuck here until the day I died. Lying wench.

Of course, the next thing that came into my mind was Zeke. Damned bastard. I pushed him away before those thoughts could get out of hand, focusing instead on Trish. She hated me now. It didn't make me feel good. It was all that damn evil things fault. Evil Cole. How the hell did he even come into existence in the first place?

I'm happy to say I fell asleep eventually. The only downside was my entire sleep was plagued by horrible nightmares of what happened and what could possibly come.

...

When I opened my eyes, my pathetic corner was bathed in sunlight. I had slept a lot longer than I had originally intended.

As I slowly began to move, my joints cracked painfully. That fight with Alden really had taken a lot out of me. These last few days in general had taken a lot out of me.

When I had finally stumbled to my feet, my only thought was energy. I needed electricity. I jumped off the building, cringing as my stiff knees hit the ground. Not to self: Never sleep curled up on a roof again. It wasn't fun the next day.

I put my hand on the device that provided electricity for the building I had slept on. I felt a little bad for it as I drained the electricity from the building, knowing I was taking energy from the people who lived inside the building, but without it, I didn't know how long I would last.

My regret faded as I felt my joints loosen and my head cleared. There was nothing like a hit of electricity to wake you up in the morning. I even felt about ready to tackle the area that was still in darkness. I nodded to myself. Yeah. That's what I would do today. Get it over with.

I shot up the building, climbing it easily. I decided that when Empire City was back to normal I would time myself to see just how long it took for me to climb the tallest building in the city. Maybe even see how long it took me to do a full lap of the train tracks.

I frowned. If Empire City ever went back to normal, what would happen to me? What would happen to me when I wasn't needed anymore? Would the government assassinate me? Would I be put into a laboratory and become a simple lab rat? I pondered all of this as I crossed into the blackout zone. Instantly, my vision blurred and I felt drained. I kept going though, knowing that as soon as I got into the sewers, I'd be fine. Generally at least.

The First Sons shot at me. They were on the roof as far as I could tell, but I didn't bother trying to hit them with my lightning. That would just be a waste of energy. Instead I dive rolled most of the way to the sewer. I never could've done all that crap before I gained my powers. Hell I couldn't even back flip. Now I could, so hey. I'm the cool guy I wished I was way back when. Who the hell am I kidding? I'm a total freak.

I lifted up the manhole and dropped into the sewers. I let my lightning flare from my palms to light my way. I could already see the bright glow of the circuit I had to re-establish. I jumped over broken platforms, unable to believe that these sewers were in such disrepair.

I grabbed onto the circuit and allowed the energy to flow through my body. I grinned as I did so. There was nothing, absolutely nothing like it. The raw power flooding through me felt damn good. It was like draining power from a generator, only ten times better. No make it a hundred times better. I felt like I could call down lightning now. Hell, maybe I could. I had a feeling I knew just how to do it too.

I continued through the sewer, searching for the generator I had to charge up. I blasted several First Sons along the way, but what the hell else is new. They always show up wherever I go. Even in the sewers. Unbelievable.

...

When I climbed back out into the open, I breathed a sigh of relief. That felt better. Much better. I felt like I could take on the world now.

If I had known what was going to happen next, I wouldn't have thought those words.

My cell phone rang. I looked at the caller ID to see another private number. So now I had two options, the first was that it was Moya, the second that it was John.

Or it could be the anti-me again.

I flipped the phone open.

"Hello?"

_Cole. Nice to speak to you._

Aw hell no. It wasn't anti-me, but it wasn't John or Moya either. I recognized that voice. It was Kessler.

"Kessler." I growled.

_So glad you remember me. I'm flattered._

"Save it." I snarled.

_Look at your GPS, Cole._

I gritted my teeth, but I did. There was a mark on it. I didn't really know what that meant, but I assumed I would find out.

"What about it?" I asked.

_In that spot is a bomb._

Shit no.

_You'll need to go defuse it. If you don't...well let's just say I have your girlfriend here._

"Trish?" I asked.

_Cole!_

Shit he had Trish.

_If you fail to defuse any of the bombs, your girlfriend will blow up along with them. The first bomb is activated._

I took off. What the hell can I say? I couldn't let that bomb go off, both for Trish's sake, and the cities sake. I ran faster than I had ever run before. I couldn't stop. Not until I'd found that bomb. I had my phone open the entire time, tracking my progress with the GPS.

_Thirty seconds._ Kessler stated.

There. I could see it. I skidded to a stop beside it and drained the electrical power from it. The bomb shut down.

Hold on...

'_If you fail to defuse any of the bombs, your girlfriend will blow up along with them.'_

Shit there was more than one.

_Well done, Cole._

"Shut up..." I growled.

_The next bomb is active. Go._

I ran for it. Turns out Kessler had sent First Sons to slow me down this time. I barely stopped for them, staying long enough to slam my electrified fist into their faces before turning down the next street. I could see the bomb in the distance, guarded by more First Sons. I continued to run, blasting them with my electricity as I ran. Citizens leapt out of my way with startled cries. I bumped into a few, but they were the ones who apologized. They seemed to realize there was purpose in every single one of my strides.

"GO GET 'EM COLE!" Someone yelled after me.

I booted a First Son in the face.

_Twenty seconds._

Aw shit, shit, shit...

I dashed up to the bomb and drained it as fast as I could. The citizens took off.

_That's five people now Cole. But I wonder, are you doing it for them? Or are you doing it for Trish?_

"Shut up!" I snarled. "I played your stupid game! Now let Trish go!"

_I'd love to Cole. But there's one last thing you need to do. You see, there are now two bombs that I am about to activate. Both are each on a different building. From one, hang six doctors. From the other, hangs your dearly beloved Trish. What will you do, Cole? You only have enough time to defuse one of them. Who will it be? The doctors? Or Trish? Who would you rather see plummet to their death when the bomb goes off?_


	5. Chapter 5: The Ultimate Sacrifice

**A/N: Wow...I actually cried while I wrote this chapter. Seriously, I cried while I was writing. How about that. Maybe you'll cry too.**

Blue Amps, Crimson Volts

Chapter 5: The Ultimate Sacrifice

My entire body froze up. Six doctors, or Trish. I didn't know what to do. At that moment, I didn't know what I was feeling. One thing was dominant however, and that was _who the hell put me in this place?_

_The bombs are active, Cole. Choose carefully. Forty seconds._

Trish...She was everything to me. She was the light that kept my head on straight. I didn't know where the hell I would be without her. All I could think now was that I wouldn't be here. I would be standing here, having to make this choice if I hadn't ever met Trish and fallen in love with her.

I asked myself, what would Trish want? Would she want me to rescue the doctors and let her fall to her death? Or would she want me to rescue her?

"Trish..." I whispered.

I imagined what she would do if I rescued her. Six doctors gone because of my selfishness. No I didn't think she would be happy. But if I rescued the doctors, would she feel bitter because I didn't even try to save her?

_Thirty seconds._

I looked up. I knew. I knew what I had to do. For the sake of the city, I had to do it. Trish wasn't even a fully qualified doctor. She was an EMT. She couldn't perform operations, or provide long term medical care. But the doctors could. Besides, six to one.

It broke my heart to do it, but I knew I had to.

I ran, heading for the closest building. I threw myself at the wall and began climbing it as fast as I could. I had spent enough time dawdling. I threw myself over the top of the building and drained the bomb. Kessler was silent, but I had been counting down in my head since he had said thirty seconds. I had twenty seconds to get to Trish. Maybe, just maybe I could...

I leapt off the building, running for the building Trish was hanging from. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. Time was slowing down. I wasn't moving fast enough.

The bomb detonated.

"COLE!" Trish screamed as I watched her fall. It happened in slow motion. I caught every last detail.

"TRISH!" I screamed, still running towards her as fast as I could. No. I wouldn't make it. I wouldn't...

She hit the ground. "TRISH!" I screamed again.

Time returned to normal as I rushed to her side. She had landed hard. Really hard. Her face was horribly disfigured, a massive scrape on one side of it, but she was still my Trish. I refused to accept the fact that she was dead. I pumped electricity into her body, trying to get her to wake up.

"Trish, Trish please." I begged, channelling as much power as I dared into her damaged chest.

Then she opened her eyes. I stared at her. "Trish..." I whispered.

She coughed. "Cole..." She breathed. "I saw him..."

"Who?" I cradled her in my arms, trying to show her just how much I needed her alive.

"The...Second Cole MacGrath..." She gasped. She began coughing again, blood spilling from her lips.

"You're going to be okay, Trish." I stated, putting my hand on her chest again to pump more electricity into her body. She convulsed slightly, but other than that, she gave no response to the electricity.

"Cole...I'm so proud of you..." She whispered.

"Trish...No please, don't say that. Not now!" I tried to heal her again. She grabbed my hand, stopping me.

"Cole. It hurts. Stop." She whispered.

I felt my eyes tearing up. "Trish, please. Don't leave me."

"Cole..."

I looked at her, my eyes meeting hers. I could see the honesty in her eyes, the pride, the joy. Tears flooded down her bloody cheeks, a smile gracing her lips.

"Cole, you're doing such a good job." She whispered. "These people...They love you...Protect them always...In my place..."

"Trish! Hell no! You're not going to die!"

"I love you."

"Trish, please!" Now I was crying.

"Cole, stay strong for me...For this city..."

"Trish..."

She gave me a weak smile. "I'm happy...you've become...this..."

"Trish..." I pulled her close to me. She squeezed my hand softly. "I love you, Trish..." I whispered. "I'm so sorry..."

"Me too..."

Then she was silent. Her hand went limp on mine and fell to the concrete. I could feel many pairs of eyes on me, but I didn't care. I broke down right there. I cried like I had never cried before. Out of all of the people I saved in this city, I couldn't save the one person that mattered to me the most. I couldn't save Trish.

I stood up, cradling her in my arms. Her head was still limp against my shoulder. If it wasn't for all the blood, I would've thought she was sleeping. I merely glanced at the crowd that had gathered. Luckily they all moved out of the way, and didn't say a word. Nobody said anything. They all stayed silent. I was grateful they did.

I walked to the nearby park where a small graveyard had cropped up. I lay her in the grass, smoothing her blood soaked hair out of her face. I noticed that her lips were curled in a soft smile. I felt tears burning at the back of my eyes again.

I turned, spotting a shovel propped up against the fence. I picked it up and started to dig.

"Cole."

I ignored the voice, continuing my digging not bothering to hide the tears streaming down my cheeks.

"Let me help you."

"NO!" I said sharply, casting a glare at the man. He backed away, startled by my outburst. "I want to do it myself."

The man nodded and left, casting me one last glance over his shoulder. I turned back to the small hole I had dug already. It needed to be deeper. Much deeper. I didn't want to risk some stupid dog digging her up.

The man came back. He placed a burial shroud beside the makeshift grave and cast me a sympathetic look. He seemed to want to say something, but I ignored him and just kept digging.

"I'm sorry." He said finally. He stood for another few seconds and when I didn't reply he turned and left.

"Thank you." I stated.

He looked back at me. "I lost my wife and kids. My wife died in the blast and my kids starved to death." The man's voice cracked. "So I know what it's like."

I knew what he meant. He knew what it was like to bury someone you loved. I knew now too. It was horrible. I pushed away the emotion and kept digging, the pile growing with every shovel full.

"We all do." I said. "Even Trish."

The man nodded. "She's with them now."

I felt tears again. Yeah she was. She was with Amy now. Her parents. The only person missing now was probably me. But she wanted me to stay in the city and protect it. I couldn't conk out now.

"Thank you, Cole. For keeping this city safe."

I nodded once. I wanted to say 'nobody else can' but the words stuck in my throat. The man left before I could get the words out, so I just kept digging. The grave was up to my knees now. It had to be deeper. Up to my waist at least.

My hands were killing me from all the digging, but I didn't want to stop. I wanted to give Trish the best possible resting place I could. She deserved that much.

As I continued to dig, I was happy to say the First Sons didn't bother attacking me. Good. Because if they did, I didn't know what I would do. I would probably slaughter them in the worst way imaginable.

The grave was up to my waist now. I wanted to stop, but at the same time, I didn't. Because I knew as soon as I stopped digging, the time to put Trish inside was upon me.

I climbed out of the grave and stabbed the shovel into the ground. I picked up the white sheet the man had left me and spread it out on the ground next to her. I lifted her gently and placed her on the sheet. Then I wrapped her feet, her legs, her waist and her chest. When I was about to cover her face, I stopped. Tears welled up in my eyes again.

I looked away for a second and saw pieces of timber leaning up against the fence. I stood up, walking over to them and taking two of the pieces. I examined the biggest one for a moment before putting the second one down. There was a saw nearby, so I grabbed that as well. I began cutting a smaller piece off the bigger piece. When the cut was made, I placed the smaller piece horizontally about three quarters of the way up the bigger piece. I then grabbed a hammer and four nails from the also nearby toolbox. The graveyard had everything that was needed to make a grave.

"I've never believed in God." I stated, talking to no one in particular. "But you did, right Trish? Being an EMT all your life, you told me about all of these miracles that happened right in front of you." I hammered the second nail in. "But for you, Trish..." I hammered in the third one. "God if you really do exist...Please..." I bit my lip. It felt like I was saying goodbye. "Watch over her. Protect her in my place. I can't do that where she is now, so you'll have to do it for me." I hammered in the last nail, completing the cross I would use to mark Trish's grave.

I looked back at her still smiling face. "Trish..." I stroked her hair again, ignoring the caked on blood. "I'll do my best. For you."

In my mind, I heard her mocking voice.

_Don't do it for me you idiot! Do it for you! Do it for the people! Do it for everybody! Not just me, Cole!_

I smiled. "Say hi to Amy for me, will you?"

"_My sister hates your guts, Cole."_

_I frowned. "Why?"_

_Trish sighed. "She thinks you're not good enough for me. She thinks I deserve better."_

"_Do you think that?"_

"_Of course not, Cole. I love you. You know I do."_

I folded the sheet over her face, hiding it from the rest of the world. I cried some more as I lifted her up, sliding down into her grave and setting her on the bottom as gently as I could.

"Goodbye, Trish. I'll see you." I whispered. I climbed out of the grave and looked down at her form, hidden by the white sheet. I felt like a piece of turd for what I was about to do: drop a load of dirt onto her body.

When I finally worked up the nerve to throw the first shovel full onto her body, I cringed at the sound it made as it slowly filled in the grave. With every shovel full, I watched as the shroud was slowly buried under earth. I couldn't get the courage to throw it onto her face, so I slowly piled up around it. When the earth finally caved in, covering it, everything hit me like a ton of bricks again. That was it. That was the last thing I ever saw of Trish. Her burial shroud. It was the worst feeling anyone could imagine.

I was the big hero in this city. Now I knew what these people went through every single day. They watched their families die. Their friends. Their lovers. Everyone. I guess I was one of the few who hadn't experienced such sorrow. But now I did, and now I understood. It was painful. Agonizing.

When I threw the last shovel full of dirt onto her grave, I knew. I knew what I planned to do. I never wanted another person in this city to go through what I had just gone through. I didn't want them to ever lose another loved one.

I dug a small ditch at the top of her grave. Then I stuck the cross into the ground before filling that in so it stayed. But something was missing. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my wallet. Inside, there was a picture of Trish. I slid it out, smiling at the photograph underneath it. It was one of those silly photo booth pictures where you put five bucks in and you got four pictures taken of you in various poses.

"_Come on, Cole." Trish said with a smile._

"_Wait, a photo booth?"_

"_Yeah! Come on! It'll be fun!"_

_She dragged me in anyway. I sat down beside her. She put money into the thing, and selected two copies, selecting a layout that would allow us to put the photos into our wallets._

"_Ready Cole?" She asked, a grin on her face._

_I sighed._

_She laughed and made a face at the camera. It was such a whacky and weird face that I stared at her like she was insane._

_FLASH!_

_She put her arm around me. I sighed, but decided to play the game along with her. I put my arm around her and gave the camera my signature dry smile._

_FLASH!_

_She kissed me next which totally startled the heck out of me. I was glad the camera didn't flash right then because that wouldn't have been cool. I kissed her back._

_FLASH!_

"_Pull a face, Cole!" Trish laughed._

_I rolled my eyes and grabbed her cheeks, pressing them together to make her lips resemble fish lips. She laughed uncontrollably while I scrunched my face up, sticking my tongue out at the camera._

_FLASH!_

"_Cole!" Trish laughed, swatting my hand away._

"_Trish!" I said, mocking her annoyed tone._

_The camera spat out two copies of the photos we had taken. Trish snapped them up immediately and laughed._

"_Oh my gosh Cole! Your face is priceless!"_

"_What?" I looked at the pictures. "So is yours. On the last one."_

_Trish laughed again. "I meant the first one, but okay."_

_I looked at the first one and nearly laughed myself. I didn't know I could make a face like that._

"We had fun that day, Trish." I whispered. I closed the wallet and slid it back into my pocket. I wished I had something to protect the picture from the elements as I nailed that to the cross. Now I could see Trish in her prime. Anyone could see Trish in her prime.

I stood there for a few seconds, admiring everything I had done. I had cried myself out, and I didn't think I would ever cry again. Not after that.

I became aware of footsteps behind me. I turned around to see a group of citizens standing there, watching me. I turned back to the grave. She deserved better. She really did. For everything she had done in her life, she deserved a massive monument dedicated to her. Instead, all she got was a wooden cross and a piece of cloth.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I jumped and turned towards them. It was a woman. She held a bouquet of flowers out to me, a sympathetic smile on her face. I took the flowers. Gosh they were beautiful. I didn't know how she got them, but I didn't care. I got Trish a bouquet like this every year on Valentine's Day. She would wait for them every year. One time I tricked her into thinking I didn't get them for her. She seemed so disappointed, so I couldn't go on with my prank. I just gave her the flowers then and there, and she just laughed.

I took the flowers with a simple nod of thanks. The woman nodded back and retreated to the many gathered citizens. I was touched that they were all here.

I turned back to the grave and propped the flowers up against the cross.

"I know it's not Valentine's Day," I whispered. "But just go with it, okay?"

I could faintly hear her laughter in my mind. I had done the same thing when she was down in the dumps one day after seeing someone die for the first time while on the job.

I smiled at her image before standing up again, turning away and heading back into the city. It was time to check on those doctors.


	6. Chapter 6: Quest for Vengeance

Blue Amps, Crimson Volts

Chapter 6: Quest for Vengeance

Regardless of the fact that Trish had told me to protect the city, I had to take my revenge. I had to kill Kessler. No matter what, I would kill Kessler.

'_Cole...I saw him...The second Cole MacGrath...'_

And I would kill him too. Mark my words.

John was sending me out on a new mission. Now apparently Kessler had thrown up these balloons that were dropping Sasha's mind control poison in the form of a gas. Damn the bastard.

My last run through the sewer had given me a power I never thought I'd ever have. As it turned out, I could in fact call down lightning. And believe me, every time I did it, it was incredibly satisfying.

A massive lightning bolt struck the top of the last Kessler balloon, demolishing the force field around it. I hovered over to it and began decoupling the platform. The balloon floated away into the sky as I fell with the platform. I landed funny on my knee that time, causing me to collapse onto the ground. Ouch. Note to self: never land hard on one leg. That was a stupid idea.

"Wow. Well done, Cole."

My fists clenched and I turned towards the voice. There he was. It was the anti-me.

"You bastard..." I snarled. Electricity sparked from my hands as I leapt at him.

He seemed taken aback by my sudden attack and shifted into defence mode.

"Why so hasty, Cole?" He asked, jumping away.

"You killed Trish!" I cried, throwing a punch in his direction.

"Trish?" He frowned. "Oh, your girlfriend?"

"Yeah that's the one!" I slammed my fist into his face. He flew backwards, rolling a few times on the pavement. "Kessler had you tie her up, didn't he?" I roared, aiming a kick at his head.

He rolled away, getting to his feet. "Kessler?" He frowned. "Oh yeah that guy."

I threw another punch at him. He began throwing his own punches back.

I landed my knee in his gut, sending him sprawling on the ground. "You helped him kill Trish..." I whispered. "For that, I'm going to kill you."

Anti-Cole rolled away and pulled himself up with a car. "Whoa man, she's dead?" He raised an eyebrow. "Darn shame. She was a beautiful woman."

"DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT HER LIKE THAT!" I attacked him, literally. I showed him no mercy

He leapt away, jumping on top of a car. He looked quite nervous.

"Chill, Cole. I had nothing to do with it. I swear." He stated.

"LIAR!" I called down lightning.

"Holy shit!" He leapt away from me not a second too soon. The lightning missed him, but it left him wide open for a powerful kick to the head. He rolled away and dodged my attacks. He continued to run until finally he pinned me against the wall of a building. He looked serious this time instead of just pure evil.

"I had nothing to do with Trish's death." He said again.

"Liar." I hissed. "She said before she died that she met you."

"I did." He stated. Then he grinned. "I told her who I was. She didn't seem to like me very much. In fact, she grabbed a hose and aimed it at me."

If the situation weren't so serious, I would've laughed. Go Trish, go. That's my girl.

Evil Cole leapt away from me again. "Tell you what, I'll leave you to grieve and we'll have our final battle some other time."

"I don't think so!" I growled, stepping towards him.

"I don't want to fight you angry, Cole." He backed into an alley, a devious grin on his face.

I continued to step towards him, lightning sparking from my fingertips.

"Oh and by the way..." He leaned down slightly. I couldn't see what he had picked up, but it seemed to be making him slightly nervous.

I leapt at him.

He grinned. "Heads up!" He cried, flinging a bucket towards me, launching the contents in my direction.

Shit. It was water.

The water slammed into me, soaking through my shirt in seconds. I cried out as my electricity sparked out of control.

Anti-me laughed. "Later!"

"BASTARD!" I cried, pulling off my sweater to stop my electricity from going haywire. It hurt like hell, the out of control sparks burning my skin. It didn't help that I didn't think I was going to dry anytime soon.

"Cole?"

I turned towards the person. It was a girl probably no older than myself, if not a bit younger. She held a towel out towards me.

"Thanks." I said, taking it gratefully and drying off my face and arms. My clothes would have to be hung up, but I could do that as soon as I got onto a roof somewhere. At least my pants didn't get too wet. I didn't feel like dropping my drawers anywhere in this city.

I handed the towel back to the girl with a nod of thanks.

She grinned. "So water huh?"

"Yeah." I muttered.

"I won't tell anyone." She said, her voice barely a whisper. Then she turned and walked away.

Lovely. So she knew my weakness and she thought it was funny.

I started to climb the nearest building. Thankfully, there was a clothesline up there, plus a bit of glorious shade beside what I assumed was the stairwell. I pulled off my shirt and hung it up on the line along with my hoodie. Thank goodness for the shade. I burned way too easily in the sun.

I sat in that small square of shade for a long time. I watched as my clothes slowly dried in the sun. I had electrical burns all over the places my skin made contact with the water, and those healed very slowly. I may have fallen asleep once or twice, because when I opened my eyes again, the sun was setting. I stood up and checked my clothes. Yes. Bone dry.

I slid my shirts back on with relief. Now I just had to continue searching for Kessler. But first, it was getting late and I had to get some sleep.

...

I was woken up by someone calling for help. The first edges of the sun were beginning to poke over the horizon which explained why I wasn't woken up before the call.

I looked towards the cross I had built to mark Trish's grave. "Good morning, Trish. Already I've gotta help this city. See you." I stood up and ran towards the cries. As it turned out, this time it was a human problem instead of the First Sons causing havoc. No joke. A young teenage girl was being wrestled off the street by four men. She was no match for them.

I quickly climbed the nearest building, following them to their destination. Luckily, they didn't go far. They just went to the darkest part of the alley and put her down.

I took this as my chance.

I leapt from the building like a shadow and floated towards the ground. I landed smoothly. The four men were too occupied to notice me, and the girls' screaming and fighting drowned out most of the sounds.

I approached them and stood right behind them. I was practically breathing down their necks.

"Looks like First Sons aren't the only problem in this district." I said softly.

The men whipped around, their faces paling at the sight of me. They let the girl go. She was slightly dishevelled but okay as she ran behind me in terror.

"Now what should I do with you?" I asked, looking at each man in turn.

"W-We're sorry..." One of them whimpered. "It'll never happen again! I swear it!"

I pulled out my cell phone and hit a number on speed dial. "Sergeant Harms? It's Cole. I just caught four men trying to wrestle a girl off the streets. What should I do with them?"

I continuously nodded for effect as Harms gave me his prompt reply of _tie them down and I'll send a unit out. Where are you?_

I gave him the address and hung up the phone. "Well, I have my orders."

"W-What are you going to do to us?"

"Let's just say this: if you resist, you're going to be in for a lot of pain." I nearly smiled in satisfaction as all four men trembled like kids having nightmares. "On the ground. All of you."

They did as they were told, and I restrained them with my electricity. One of them panicked and struggled against the bonds, yelping in pain.

"I told you, if you resist it's going to hurt." I stated. "You're not getting out of there no matter how much you struggle."

The man gave up eventually, and I turned towards the girl.

"Are you all right?" I asked.

Her face was bright red, as if she were smitten by my presence. I wouldn't have been surprised if that was the case. Most girls were these days.

She nodded slowly. "Uh huh..."

I nodded back.

The police arrived and picked up the four restrained men.

"You people make me sick." One of the cops said. "Thanks a lot, Cole."

"Just doing what I can." I stated.

"And um..." He paused, looking at me warily. "I'm sorry about...that girl."

I narrowed my eyes slightly in annoyance. I didn't want anybody bringing Trish up. Not now. Even so, 'that girl' had a name.

"Trish." I stated. "Her name was Trish."

The officer nodded. "We'll see you around, Cole."

I watched the police van drive off with the four dumbasses. I turned around to see the girl still watching me from the alley. I had a feeling that if I started walking, she would follow me wherever I went.

Now...where to go next?

...

As the day went on, the heat was unbearable. I realized that this pretty much meant it was summer in Empire City. And believe me, the heat didn't do any good for anybody in the city. Heat is heyday for bacteria and flies. If this heat lasted long enough, there wasn't going to be a scrap of edible food left anywhere in the city.

Around three, I began to notice big, puffy rain clouds forming. Judging from how big they were and how many there were, I had reason to believe that we'd be in for a storm tonight. As the rest of the day wore on, my theory was proven correct as the storm clouds began to cover the sky. Thunder rumbled overhead and off in the distance I saw rain coming down in sheets.

"Aw shit..." I cursed, leaping underneath an awning just in the nick of time. Close one. I pulled up my hood and stuffed my hands beneath my arms, hopefully to keep as much moisture off me as I could. The wind was howling between the buildings, but thankfully it was blowing the rain away from the building and not towards it.

I watched with fascination as an arc of lightning raced across the sky. Thunder crashed right after it. Cool.

"Cole? Is that you?"

I looked up. Once again, it was a girl. She looked familiar, but I couldn't quite recall. It didn't help that her face was shadowed by a large rain jacket she held above her head. I realized why a second later. The jacket had no hood, so she was using it as an umbrella.

"You shouldn't be out in a storm like this." I stated, being such a freaking hypocrite. I shouldn't be out in a storm like this either, but hey. I couldn't run through that water.

The girl adjusted the jacket slightly. Now I could see her face clearly. It was the same girl who gave me the towel earlier.

"I shouldn't be out here?" The girl grinned. "I'm not the one who will short circuit if I get wet."

I smirked. "Yes, but you can get struck by lightning."

"The buildings are taller than me. Besides, the chances of getting struck by lightning is like six hundred thousand to one." The girl stated. "And the chances of you short circuiting in wet weather is about..." She pretended to ponder this for a moment, though I had a feeling she already knew the answer. "One hundred percent?" She grinned.

"You've made your point." I stated.

"You can stay at my place until the weather lets up." She said.

I raised my eyebrow. "Why the offer? I'm doing just fine right here."

The girl rolled her eyes. "So you're just going to hide under the awning until the rain stops?"

I shrugged. "I couldn't get to a better place to duck this time."

"Well I'm offering you shelter until the rain stops." She stated.

"Why?" I asked. I had all rights to be suspicious. What if she was working for the First Sons?

The girl sighed and looked at the ground. "Course you'd be like this."

I watched her carefully.

"I just..." She paused. "You saved me once. Back in the Warren. The Dust Men were shooting at me and you just took out every single one of them. I thought I was done for. I felt cold. I just knew I was going to die right there, and then you healed me and left before I got the chance to say thank you."

I nodded. "You're welcome then."

She shook her head. "I don't think it's enough. You helped me, so let me help you."

I met her eyes.

"Please. Let me help you for helping me. Let me help you for helping this city." She said softly.

I could see the honesty in her eyes. She wanted to repay me for helping her. Helping Empire City. Could I possibly deny her that much? Could I just refuse to let her help me? I sighed and looked away. No. There was no way I could refuse. She wanted to help me. Besides, she was right. I couldn't just sit here until the rain let up.

"All right." I sighed.

She smiled. "Here then." She adjusted the jacket so it could accommodate two people.

I shook my head. "I won't get under the jacket with you."

She frowned. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Because if I step in a puddle, it'll become electrified and you'd be killed."

She froze. "O-Oh..." She bit her lip. I assumed she was thinking of a way she could keep both of them dry.

I was one step ahead. I unzipped my sweater and pulled it off. "Here. I'll trade you. That way you'll at least stay a little dry."

She nodded and stepped towards me.

"Wait." I told her.

She paused.

I looked down at my feet. There was a bit of water there. It wasn't a whole lot, but I wasn't taking any chances. I stepped onto the lip of the window and hung there, keeping a hand on the metal support structure of the awning.

"Okay." I told her. She stepped towards me and I held out my sweater. She took it and replaced it with her raincoat. "You lead the way, and I'll walk behind you. Stay out of the puddles as much as possible just in case."

She nodded and put the sweater on, pulling the hood up. I almost laughed. It was huge on her. She bowed her head and stepped back out into the rain, the sweater getting wet almost immediately. She walked down the street, glancing back at me as she went.

I covered my head with the rain jacket and crouched slightly. If my feet got wet, it would just mean minor burns. But if my head or chest got wet, that could kill me. I followed after her, taking small steps to avoid as many puddles as I could.

The girl continued to glance back at me, making sure I was keeping up all right. When she turned her back to me again, I smiled to myself. Though I didn't think I would voice it, I was happy that she wanted to give me something back for my efforts in this city. For once, I was proud to be the hero. I had never gotten into it for the spoils, but when someone offered me something as basic as shelter when that's what I really needed since Zeke took off, well...

That made me happy.


	7. Chapter 7: Growing Hope

Blue Amps, Crimson Volts

Chapter 7: Growing Hope

Turns out, the girl lived in the massive building by ground zero. It was mangled and leaning dangerously to one side, but that was just anything pretty much above the second and third floors. She went into the building and left the door open for me. I walked in a few seconds later and she shut the door behind me.

"Did you get wet, Cole?" She asked.

"My feet yeah, but that was unavoidable." I stated. I lowered the rain jacket, keeping the wet side away from me. She took the jacket into the building and walked down the hall. I followed her. Now that there wasn't a water issue, I followed a bit closer.

"Nobody else really lives here." The girl stated.

"No I would think not." I stated. "This building is practically falling down."

The girl shrugged. "It was the last place I could find. I didn't really want to live on the street if you know what I'm saying."

I nodded. I knew what it was like to have a place to call home. Shame I didn't have it anymore.

The girl shoved open a door and walked inside. It was a relatively big apartment for her alone, but the amount of junk she had collected made it seem a lot smaller.

"What's all this?" I asked, gesturing to the piles of what I thought of as trash stuffed into corners.

"I'm trying to salvage as much as I can." She stated. She hung up the wet jacket on the back of a rickety old chair. "You never know when you might need it."

"I don't know what you could do with five busted televisions, but okay."

She laughed. "I was thinking about salvaging them for parts. You know, in electronics there's usually a bit of gold in it."

I nodded. "That's true." I kicked off my shoes and pulled off my socks. My electricity wasn't going berserk, but I wasn't taking any chances. The bottoms of my pants were a little bit wet, but it wasn't bothering me much either.

The girl pulled off my sweater. "I'll hang this up for you."

I nodded. She hung the sweater over another chair, making sure it could dry properly. I kicked my shoes over into the same general area.

She laughed. "Throw your socks on there as well."

I smirked and spread my socks out on the seat of the chair. "Thanks." I said without really thinking about it.

"Oh, no problem." She said with a smile. "Can I get you something to drink? Are you hungry?"

"Aren't we all hungry?" I asked.

She smirked. "Yeah I guess so. I'll take that as a yes?"

I shrugged.

"I was going to eat too anyway, so don't feel bad for asking for food." She stated. "After all...Aren't we all hungry?"

I gave her a slightly annoyed look.

She laughed. "Just take a seat anywhere. Make yourself at home. I'll be right back."

She left the room and I sat down on the couch that was filled with holes. Some of it was charred in places too. I couldn't believe it hadn't disintegrated from the Blast. Then again, it had this mega-tough building to protect it. You know a building is tough when it splits right down the middle and balances itself at a twenty-degree angle on the last few remaining pieces of concrete and rebar.

The girl came back in with two plastic glasses of water and set them on the small table beside the couch.

"Do you want a straw, or will you be okay drinking from a glass?" She asked with a wry grin.

"Okay, enough of the water jokes." I stated. "Yes, I'll be fine. A little water doesn't matter. Just as long as I don't get drenched, I'm fine."

She nodded and left the room again. When she came back in, she handed me a smashed up apple and sat on the couch beside me. She had one that was equally as smashed up, so I figured we were even.

I bit into the apple and tried to ignore the horrible taste. Just as long as the apple wasn't black, it was edible. It may have been brown and gross, but I had to eat something. A quick glance at the girl told me she was having the same problem.

I reached over and grabbed one of the glasses, holding it out to her by the rim.

She looked at me and snapped up the cup quickly, washing the bad apple down with warm water.

"Thank you." She sighed. "I don't suppose you could reverse apple rot?"

"I wish." I stated. I took another tentative bite out of the apple and nearly threw up. I had bitten into a black area in the middle. I spat it out into my hand and gagged.

"Sorry, Cole! If I had known the apple was bad I wouldn't have given it to you!" The girl stated.

I shook my head. "It's not your fault. If yours is still completely good, I'd be stunned. Pretty soon all of the food is going to be rotten."

The girl sighed. "Yeah. I know."

"Still, I think these apples would make a swanky apple sauce."

She laughed. "Swanky?"

"Got a knife somewhere?"

She nodded and headed for what I assumed was the kitchen. She came back with a knife and handed it to me.

"Thanks." I began to cut the apple, figuring out just how much rot there was inside. Thankfully there wasn't much. It was just a small area of it. I cut the rot out and proceeded to continue slicing the apple. Small bites worked wonders. That's all I really knew.

"That's not a bad idea, actually." She got back up again and came back with a second knife. She began attempting to cut her own apple.

"You're going to cut yourself if you do it like that." I told her.

She looked up at me for a second and changed her grip, using her knee as a cutting board instead of attempting to copy my technique. I nearly laughed, thinking that as soon as she cut it, both halves would go AWOL before she could blink. She seemed to pick up on this and held onto the top of the apple while she finished the cut.

"Why are you so good at that?" She asked.

I shrugged. "My dad was a cook."

"Cool. Where is he now?"

I stuck a small piece of apple in my mouth. "Somewhere else." I stated.

She frowned.

"Not in Empire City, that's for sure."

"Where is he then?"

I shrugged. "Probably somewhere in America with my mom. They had gone out on a trip before the quarantine was set up."

"Oh." She returned her attention to her apple and continued hacking it as best as her inexperienced hands could. Then she stopped. "Why didn't they take you with them?"

"I didn't want to go."

"Why not?"

I rolled my eyes. "I didn't really want to go to Mexico." There was more to it than that. In fact, I had been planning a camping trip with Trish, Amy and Zeke around that time. That was why I didn't want to go.

We never ended up going.

She laughed. "Why not?"

Okay now I had to tell her why not. "I was planning on going camping with a few friends."

She nodded.

"Not to mention I didn't feel like baking on a beach."

She laughed.

We continued to eat our horrid apples in silence. I ate every part of it, even the seeds. She did the same thing. When I was done, I washed the horrible piece of crap down with the water I still hadn't touched. I could feel her eyes on me as I took a drink. It only made me amused because I could just see her train of thought. It was like she was waiting for my head to explode or something. I was tempted to fake electrocution, but that wouldn't have been nice. Besides, I might've spilled the water doing so.

"My name's Nita." She said suddenly.

I glanced at her and nodded. Nita. Finally I had a name for the face.

...

The rain didn't let up into the night. The rain had slowed considerably, but it fell constantly. I knew I was stuck with Nita until the rain stopped, so I tried to do my best to pass the time.

I got one of the televisions working. She was absolutely stunned when I did so. All I really had to do was hold onto the wire and hey presto, we had power. Nita hooked it up to the cable and we both sat on the rickety dining room chairs and watched some of it. Everything on it was totally lame. She tuned into the news and we both found entertainment in that.

"Well," I said suddenly, watching footage from the war in Afghanistan. "Now I know why we're not getting any help here."

Nita looked at me. "They're too busy focusing on the war?"

I nodded. "They don't have time for a small city." I continued to watch the television. "They're only worried about protecting the whole country in general. After 9/11, they've been doing everything in their power to keep those bastards out of the country."

Nita nodded. "Understandable." She paused. "But we don't need them, Cole. The government..."

I looked at her.

"Empire City has you."

I looked back at the television. "Yeah. I guess." I sighed. "But I'm one man. I can't save everybody no matter how hard I try."

"You're doing a good job, Cole."

I sighed and ran a hand over my head.

"You gave the people hope." Nita stated. "I was stuck in the Warren after the Blast. The Dust Men had the run of the place, and nobody wanted to do anything to stop them.

"But when you came through, you gave the people hope. You made them realize they weren't alone anymore, and there was someone out there who was trying to make a difference. It inspired them to fight back against the Dust Men."

I thought about that for a moment. I could remember citizens throwing rocks at the Dust Men while I fought them.

"You know it too, Cole. I know you do."

I stayed silent. I didn't know how to answer that.

The news began to talk about the weather at that moment. I could only sigh as they announced rain for the next several days.

Nita laughed. "Looks like you're stuck with me, Cole."

"Yep. Looks like it."

She laughed again.

...

As it turned out, powering that television drained electricity from me. I only realized it when the television suddenly flickered and went out. I attempted to call upon my power, but all I got were a few pathetic sparks.

"Cole! You're out of juice!" Nita laughed.

"Yeah." I glanced around the house. "Guess that means no television."

Nita shrugged. "Doesn't matter. There's nothing good on anyway." She sighed. "I'm sick of hearing about that news reporter talking about how much the government is doing for this city. In reality, they're doing shit."

I nodded. "Nobody's really come to ask just how things are going here. They're taking the governments phony words for it. The governments abandoned us."

Nita looked spacey for a moment. "When Empire City returns to normal I...I think I'm going to write a book on this."

I looked at her. "A book?"

She nodded. "I've been keeping a journal, logging every little thing I could. I've taken pictures with a camera. I keep everything in a fireproof box."

"It's a good idea." I told her. "Once the quarantine is down, I'm sure many of us are going to be telling our stories."

She nodded sadly.

I glanced out the window to see basically nothing. I could faintly see rain pouring down in areas lit up by street lamps, but other than that, most of the scenery was pitch black. I sat down on the couch and closed my eyes. I could use as much rest as I could get at this point in time. I was drained, and it was going to be raining for the next several days.

It only took me a couple seconds to completely conk out.

...

When I fazed back into consciousness, I realized someone had thrown a blanket over me.

_Nita,_ I thought. I glanced around for her but she was nowhere to be seen. I flopped myself down onto the couch and pulled the blanket up to my chin. I had to admit, the gesture made me feel pretty good.

...

I faded in and out of consciousness for I didn't know how long. It didn't matter much either. All I really cared about was sleeping. I had never felt so damn comfortable in my life. It was the first time in a long time I slept on something legitimately soft.

What can I say? My body took advantage of it and slept like a log.

When I finally woke up for good, I glanced around the house. I could hear rattling in another room. I glanced out the window to see that the sky had lightened considerably, but I could still tell it was wet outside.

I pushed the blanket off and stepped onto the floor. The moment I stood up straight, the only thing I thought was I had never felt better. I held up my hand and watched the lightning jump energetically from finger to finger. Wow. I had restored my energy just by sleeping. I closed my eyes for a second. I could barely feel the electricity coursing through me. So I was still drained. I just had better control over it now that I was rested.

I walked towards the sounds coming from the other room. I looked through the door and saw Nita moving stuff around. I realized a second later what she was doing. She was pouring water into water bottles. She had so many of them too. I didn't understand why until I saw the rain catchers. Nifty.

I didn't want to startle her by speaking up. She probably didn't even know I was here right now. I had a feeling that if I made a sound, she would jump and spill that precious water she had been collecting.

Nita grabbed the four water bottles she had just filled and turned. She saw me and she gasped, practically jumping out of her skin, one of the bottles slipping from her hands.

"Cole!" She gasped. "You're awake!" She blinked a few times and picked up the bottle. "You scared me." She placed the water bottles with the massive collection she had. There looked to be over a hundred of them.

"Sorry." I said. "That's a lot of water."

Nita nodded. "Yeah. Can't have too much water these days. You never know when the next rain storm is going to come, you know?"

I nodded slowly. "Do you share this with anyone?"

Nita sighed. "No. Not really."

"Why not?"

"Because..." She whispered. "There's not enough for everybody."

"But there's not enough for you?"

"No! You don't understand!" She cried. "I can't just give water to some people and not give water to others! It's not fair, Cole!"

I leaned against the doorframe.

"I feel guilty about the amount of water I have. Really I do, Cole." She sighed. "But I'm trying to save as much of it as I can."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I'm going to start growing food." She stated. "I'm going to grow it here. I've built a small greenhouse. I don't have very many seeds right now, but as I grow this food, I'm going to collect the seeds and eventually..." She turned towards me, a look of determination in her eyes. "Eventually I'm going to build a bigger one. And a bigger one, until everyone in this city is fed." She looked away. "Slowly but surely. The city will prosper again. I swear it, Cole."

"Where's your greenhouse?" I asked.

She walked out of the room. I followed her down the hall. She opened a door and I gasped. An entire room, facing south, had the roof replaced with glass. She had used the massive crack in the building to her advantage, allowing as much light as possible to filter in. She had a second door into the greenhouse to hold the warmth in. She pushed it open, and I followed her inside.

"This is my greenhouse." She stated.

"How long have you had this?" I asked.

"Since I took up residence here." She sighed. "I can only grow enough to feed myself right now, Cole."

I looked around at the plants that were growing very, very well. I saw tomato plants, bean plants, carrot plants, potato plants, any vegetable you could grow in your own garden, she had them growing in her greenhouse.

"This is the first harvest." She stated. "I know how to process the seeds. My mom used to do it. She was a gardener, and she owned her own nursery." She looked at me again. "I call it the Hope Garden."

I looked around at the plants and nodded. "All right. It's for the city."

Nita nodded. "For the city."

I walked through her greenhouse, examining all of the healthy plants that were growing there. She was really doing a good job, but I knew that these plants weren't big enough to feed a lot of people. More plants were needed. So to start, she kept the plants to herself. A thing like this, I understood. She had to be selfish. Even just a little bit. To make sure the garden was successful, she had to keep the produce to herself.

"Cole."

I looked towards her. She was holding a small pot with what looked like a tiny tree growing from it.

"This is my apple tree." She said with a smile. "I hope to grow many of them so we don't have to eat rotten apples again."

"That'll take many years, won't it?" I asked.

She nodded and set the plant down lovingly. "Hopefully Empire City will have come back by then."


	8. Chapter 8: Guilty Mind

Blue Amps, Crimson Volts

Chapter 8: Guilty Mind

"You slept a long time, Cole." Nita stated.

"How long?" I asked.

"A couple days at most."

My eyes widened slightly. "Really?"

She nodded. "You must've been exhausted."

I nodded slowly. "Being the hero all the time makes it tough for me to get any sleep."

Nita smiled. "Well I'm glad you got to rest. You look a hell of a lot better now too."

"I feel a hell of a lot better."

Nita laughed. "That's good."

Later that day, the sun poked out of the clouds. It was a welcome sight.

"Nita?"

"Hm?"

"In your piles of junk do you have a clear plastic bag somewhere?"

Nita walked into the kitchen. She came back with a clean Ziploc bag. Never thought I would see one of those again.

"Why do you need it?" She asked.

"Just...Something I want to do now that it's stopped raining."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

I shook my head.

Nita nodded.

"Thank you for letting me stay here."

"No problem!" She grinned. "You can come here anytime!"

I pulled on my now dry socks, considering her offer.

"Whenever you need a place to stay, there's always one here for you."

I looked at her. She was smiling at me.

"What?" She asked. "Don't look at me like that."

I snorted and shoved my feet into my shoes.

"I meant it, Cole."

"I know you did." I shrugged on my sweater and lifted my bag over my head.

She watched me silently as I headed for the door.

"Cole."

I turned.

"Come back, okay?"

I looked away for a second and thought about that. I had Kessler to deal with, as well as my evil twin. I didn't really know what she meant by 'come back' but she either meant 'visit' or 'come home'.

"We'll see." I told her. Then I turned the knob and left the house.

...

I felt bad for leaving her like that, but at the same time I didn't want to stay for too long. I didn't want to get comfortable. If I did, I might never leave.

I stepped into the graveyard, finding Trish's grave easily. Her picture was surprisingly, still in very good condition even after all the rain. I took it as a spiritual sign that Trish was still with me, as cheesy as it sounded. I grabbed the hammer and pulled the nail out of the cross, lifting her picture from the nail. I slid it into the bag and sucked the air out before zipping it tightly closed. I folded it around her image and nailed it back to the cross. Now her image would never tarnish.

My cell phone rang. I flipped it open.

"Hello?"

_Cole. I have one final mission for you. We know how to locate the Ray Sphere. Forty five seconds._

"All right. What do you need me to do?"

...

Next thing I knew I was dangling on an electrified grate beneath a helicopter. It was pretty sweet, yet terrifying at the same time. I had to protect it from whatever the hell the First Sons threw at me.

And that was no small feat.

My determination to find the Ray Sphere blocked out everything else in my mind. I forgot about Trish. I forgot about Nita. I forgot about Kessler and evil Cole. I forgot about everything except the Ray Sphere.

And then I was standing in front of it.

The blue glow was hypnotic, reminding me of the raw power inside this thing.

"Cole." John said beside me. "Destroy that thing."

I continued to stare at the object. Now was my chance. I could destroy it right here. Rid the world forever of the terrible device. Yet, for some reason I was hesitant to do so. I had a connection to this thing. This was what gave me my powers.

It could make me stronger.

If I activated it, my power would double, and then nobody in this city could stop me. Not Kessler, and not anti-me. In fact, it would probably make killing them that much easier. Getting my revenge that much easier.

But at what cost? At the cost to hundreds of thousands of lives. After I had spent so much time saving the city, could I knowingly condemn them to death? But at the same time, if I was more powerful, I could protect this city better. Kill thousands to save thousands? Could I do that?

_Cole...I'm so proud of you..._

You won't be Trish. Not with the thoughts I'm having right now.

_These people...They love you...Protect them always...in my place..._

I bit my lip.

_You gave the people hope._

Nita.

_You made them realize they weren't alone anymore, and there was someone out there who was trying to make a difference. It inspired them to fight back..._

I looked at the ground.

_I call it the Hope Garden._

I looked up at the Ray Sphere. I couldn't think about this anymore. Thinking about it would just make it worse. I had to do what needed to be done.

I raised my arms above my head and with a furious cry, I brought my arms down, summoning a massive lightning bolt from the sky. The energy slammed into the top of the sphere. A huge glow erupted from the object, energy flooding from the device, expanding rapidly in all directions.

I ran from the sphere. I heard John's agonized scream as the sphere ripped him apart. I kept running. I prayed that it wouldn't destroy the city. And just like that, it was all over. The Ray Sphere was no more.

...

I sat numbly on top of one of the steel girders that hung over the train tracks. My legs dangled loosely into thin air as a train rumbled below me.

I sickened myself. I couldn't believe I had thought about detonating the Ray Sphere. And John. Poor man. He didn't deserve that.

I rubbed my face. I was filled with guilt and remorse. It hurt terribly.

"COLE! HEY! COLE!"

I looked towards the voice to see someone standing on the ground, waving up at me with both arms.  
>"WE NEED SOME HELP HERE, COLE!"<p>

I stood up slowly and walked towards the side of the girder. I jumped off and hovered to the ground. I realized that the person who had called was an EMT.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"My clinic is overrun. There was an attack from the First Sons, and many people were injured. Can you help?"

I nodded. "Lead the way."

...

It felt good to get my mind off all that had happened. It felt even better to help a medic out. Medics took care of minor scrapes and bruises, and doctors took care of removing bullets. It was totally organized, which I was glad to see. Things were getting back to normal in the hospital.

I was in charge of reviving any unconscious patients. I saw many citizens die in that clinic as well. A handful of them I couldn't save no matter how hard I tried. The damage was too severe. Just like with Trish.

Knowing that I had failed to save a few more lives made me feel better about Trish. It told me that I couldn't save everybody, but I could only try. And try I did. Trish stopped me from trying because it had put her through a lot of pain. I wondered what it felt like to be healed by my electrical power.

At the end of the day, the survivors, doctors and medics in the clinic threw a celebration for me. I was hugged by many, and a few girls were bold enough to kiss me on the cheek. At first, I was surprised at the amount of attention, but then I just took it in stride. It was my job to be a hero now after all. What a promotion: bike messenger to hero.

But then I remembered what happened back at the Ray Sphere. I didn't deserve all of this love; all of this attention. I had wanted to kill these people all for my own selfish desires. While most of them were distracted, I snuck out the door and began to walk. I pulled up my hood and bowed my head so hopefully nobody would recognize me. All I really wanted to do was brood for the next few hours.

Before I realized it, I was standing in front of Nita's house. Unbelievable. I opened the front door to the building and walked down the hallway. I forgot which house was hers, but I figured it wouldn't be too hard to find. Oddly enough, it wasn't. It was pretty damn easy. It seemed as if that single trip had burned Nita's house into my memory. That would explain why I ended up here on autopilot.

I raised my fist hesitantly and knocked on the door three times. I looked at my feet, biting my lip nervously. I felt like such a prude knocking. She said I was welcome anytime, but I felt like a piece of shit after the stunt I pulled inside my own fucked up head.

The door opened tentatively and Nita's brown eyes looked out at me. They widened and the door opened quickly.

"Cole?" She asked.

I didn't say anything. I just lowered my hood.

"Are you all right?" She asked.

I sighed. "Can I come in?"

"Yes." She said, stepping aside. "Of course. I said you could come by anytime. You don't have to knock either."

I stepped into the familiar apartment, taking a seat on the couch almost mechanically. Nita followed me, sitting down beside me.

"What happened?" She asked.

I rubbed my hands together, feeling the dirt on them. When I looked at them I realized they were still stained with the blood of the patients. Lovely.

"Is that blood?" Nita asked.

"I...Yeah." I didn't see the point in lying.

Nita stood up and left. She came back in with a cloth. She hesitated for a second.

"Will you get hurt if I clean it up?" She asked.

I looked up at her.

"You can talk, Cole. It's okay. Just tell me what happened."

I held my hand out to her, bracing myself just in case it hurt. But the cloth was just slightly damp. It proved effective in cleaning up the blood from my hands. It didn't hurt at all really. It felt kind of nice to have clean hands for once.

"I was helping out at a clinic." I told her. "That's where the blood came from."

"Oh." She looked up at me. "Then what's bothering you?"

I sighed, leaning back on the couch and looking up at the ceiling. "The Ray Sphere." I stated.

"What's that?"

"It's what blew up Empire City."

Her mouth formed an O of surprise.

"I've been looking for it."

"Why?"

"So I could destroy it." I said simply. "I found it today. But..." I hesitated.

She watched me expectantly. She sat beside me again. "But what?" She whispered.

"The second I laid my eyes on it, all I could think about was how it had given me my power. It's the reason I have these powers. In exchange for getting those powers, thousands were killed."

"How, Cole?" She asked. "How...did you get your powers?"

I sighed. "I was asked to deliver a package. Before the Blast I was a bike messenger. I received a phone call from the person who dispatched me. They told me to open the package. So I did, and the Ray Sphere was inside it. At the time, I didn't know what it was. All I saw was a weird ball." I ran a hand down my face. "He told me how to detonate it without actually telling me what I was about to do."

Nita gasped. "You...You caused all of this?"

"I swear, Nita, I didn't know what would happen. I was just a bike messenger following orders."

She stayed silent.

"I woke up in a crater. A few days later, I had my electric powers." I sighed. "When I found the Ray Sphere again, that was all I could think about. It had given me my power, and for all I knew, it could strengthen them too."

Nita gasped. "Cole, no..."

"I really thought about it. I really did. That's why I feel like crap. Because I considered detonating the Ray Sphere again. I considered killing thousands just to make myself stronger."

"Why, Cole?"

"There were a few reasons." I stated. "One of them was a selfish reason, but the other was simply...If I'm stronger, I can protect the city better."

Nita twiddled her thumbs. "You didn't, did you?"

I shook my head. "I destroyed it."

Nita nodded. "You did the right thing."

I sighed. "I know. But it still feels like I did something horribly wrong." I stared at a hole in the cushion. I didn't want to look at Nita, nor did I want to face anything else. To my surprise, Nita wrapped her arms around me and hugged me closer than I felt like I deserved. It was silly, but at that moment, all I could really think about was Trish. Whenever I was feeling down, Trish always gave me a hug like this one.

"You didn't do something horribly wrong, Cole." Nita said softly. One of her hands was softly pulling my head into her chest. I didn't know how the hell I felt about it. My mind was spinning too fast, tied in knots with thoughts of Trish. Was I betraying her memory for letting her hug me like this?

Also floating around in my mind was _what the fuck is going on?_ I was on information overload. I didn't understand a single damn thing this gesture brought on. What did this say about Nita? What did this say about me? What about Trish? It was too confusing. I tried to sort out the thoughts, but I couldn't do it. It got to the point where I just shoved her away.

"I'm sorry." Nita said.

I shook my head. I didn't know what to say anymore. I was so fucking confused.

My cell phone rang, thankfully breaking the silence. I had a bad feeling about it. John was dead, so the only options I had was Kessler, evil Cole, or Moya. And boy I didn't want to hear from any of them right now.

I looked at the caller ID.

Zeke.

I let it ring. The answering machine picked up.

_Cole. I know you're there, man!_ Zeke stated. _Pick up!_ He paused for several seconds. _Look, I know what I did. And I realize now that...It's just not worth it, man. It's not what I thought it was going to be._

I stood up and snapped the phone open.

"Maybe you should've thought of that before you took off with the Ray Sphere!" I hissed.

_Man, I didn't know what was going to happen with Trish. If I had known, I wouldn't have done it._

"Shut up, Zeke. In my mind, you helped that bastard kill her."

_What do you want me to say? I'm sorry?_

"Don't say anything. Just get lost. If we ever meet again, things are going to get ugly." I snapped the phone shut.

"Cole?" Nita whispered. "Who was that? What about the Ray Sphere?"

"That was Zeke." I stated. "He used to be my best friend."

"Used to be?"

"I trusted him. I've found the Ray Sphere twice. The first time was at the top of the junk tower in the Warren. I trusted him to get the Ray Sphere and hand it off to me while I kept the Dust Men off him. But then he betrayed me and ran off with the man who created the Ray Sphere in the first place. His name was Kessler. He offered Zeke powers just like mine in return for the sphere."

Nita gasped.

"Zeke took the bait. He even tried to detonate it. Thank god it didn't work."

"Oh my god, Cole."

My phone rang again. I looked at the caller ID. Private Number. Here comes hell.

I flipped the phone open.

"Hello?"

_Hello Cole._

It was Kessler.


	9. Chapter 9: Battle for Empire City

Blue Amps, Crimson Volts

Chapter 9: Battle for Empire City

"What do you want?" I growled.

_Cole, why don't you meet me where this all began?_

I knew where he meant. Ground zero.

_We'll end it all right here. How about it, Cole? I'll wait for you._ The phone line went dead. I gritted my teeth and stuffed my phone back into my pocket.

"What was it this time?" Nita asked.

"That..." I cracked my knuckles. "Was Kessler."

Nita nodded slowly.

"He wants to finish things. Today. Right now."

"Cole, no." Nita stood up. "The city needs you."

"And Kessler needs to die or he'll make another Ray Sphere!" I barked.

She flinched.

I looked out the window. I could see ground zero from here. Nita would have a perfect view of the battle.

"Nita."

She didn't respond.

"I need you to get out of the area. I don't know how big this battle is going to be."

"Why?" She crossed her arms. "I'm not going to abandon this place just because you think it's appropriate. This is my home and I will defend it."

"Suit yourself then." I turned and headed for the door.

"Cole! Cole wait!" She ran after me.

"Stay in here, Nita. Don't follow me." I told her.

"Cole!" She grabbed onto my arm. I whipped towards her almost angrily. She wasn't going to stop me. If I had to, I would knock her out right here.

But I stopped. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she stared up at me with pleading eyes.

"Please..." She whispered.

"You can't stop me, Nita." I stated. "I'm going to fight Kessler."

"No...I probably can't stop you." Nita whispered. Her grip loosened on my arm and I drew it away from her, continuing towards the door. Next thing I knew, she threw herself on me, wrapping her arms around my neck. I was so startled that I stumbled backwards, hitting the door with a thud.

"Nita..." Once again, I didn't know what to do. She was crying into my shoulder, making me want to comfort her, but at the same time she was freaking _hugging _me. I was not a huggy person. The only person I only let hug me was Trish, so I was completely torn. Comfort Nita; let her hug me and betray Trish, or shove her away and leave her to suffer? What the hell was I supposed to do?

"Cole..." Nita whispered. "I don't want to see you go. I don't want to see you gone forever."

"Nita, I'm not going to die."

"What if you do?" She whimpered. "What will this city do? What will I do? What will we all do without you, Cole?"

I sighed. "Nita, I have-"

"Don't you get it, you idiot?" Nita cried, lifting her head off my shoulder, her eyes boring into mine. "I love you, Cole MacGrath!"

Didn't see that coming. I didn't see what would happen next coming either. She pressed her lips against mine before I knew what was happening. The confusion spun around in my head again.

_No,_ I thought. _No, no, no. I can't. Not this._ I pushed her away. She stared at me with tears in her eyes.

"Cole, please." She whispered.

"Nita, I have to do this." I stated.

"No." She whispered. "No you don't. You don't need to get revenge!"

My eyes widened. How the hell did she know about that?

"I'm not an idiot!" Nita stated. "You were talking in your sleep. You talked about some girl named Trish and how you couldn't save her. You said you were going to kill Kessler and get your revenge!"

"That's not-"

"I don't want to hear it!" Nita cried. "I don't want you to run off and get yourself killed for some stupid girl who's already dead!"

My temper snapped. "Don't you dare talk about Trish like that!" I roared.

Nita flinched. My electricity sparked from my hands threateningly against my will. Anger did that to me. It seemed to utterly terrify Nita.

"Trish was everything to me. She still is. I can't love you, Nita. I just can't. And I have to kill Kessler. Not just for revenge, but for this city. I can't let him kill any more people. Goodbye, Nita." I turned and walked out the door.

"COLE!" She screamed.

I ignored it, closing the door behind me. I heard her fall against the door and start to cry. I felt terrible for leaving her there like that, but I had unfinished business to take care of. Mainly, kill Kessler. Just before I took a step away, I hesitated. I really couldn't leave her like that if I tried. I crouched beside the door.

"I'm sorry, Nita." I stated. Then I left. I knew she had heard me, because her sobs temporarily stopped. I walked down the hallway. About halfway down, I heard the door open. I felt Nita's eyes on me as I turned the corner and headed out the front door.

Towards ground zero.

...

Kessler was waiting for me when I arrived.

"I'm very disappointed in you, Cole." Kessler stated. "Why didn't you activate the Ray Sphere? It would've made you so much stronger."

"Shut up." I growled. "I'm not like you. I would never kill thousands just for power."

Kessler merely laughed.

"Why is there two of me in this city?" I asked.

Kessler stopped laughing. He looked at me for a few seconds. "Two of you?"

"Yeah." I growled. "There's a second Cole MacGrath in this city. He has red lightning. Care to tell me who the hell he is and what the hell he's doing here?"

Kessler didn't respond at first. He just looked totally baffled.

"I don't know what you're talking about Cole." He stated.

"Liar." I hissed. I blasted him with electricity. Kessler warped away.

"So you want to start this now?" He asked. "Let the games begin."

...

The battle with Kessler was the hardest battle I had ever fought. Sasha had been a real piece of work, and Alden was just plain dangerous. But Kessler? He was strong.

I cried out as I got hit by another blast of his energy. I rolled several feet across the ground. I grabbed the end of a broken cable and restored my energy. I stood up and launched my next attack, throwing balls of electricity at Kessler.

"Your mother was ashamed of you!" Kessler taunted. "She tells everyone you're a teacher! Nobody respects a bike messenger!"

"Fuck you." I growled, slamming my fist into his face. He teleported away again. The bastard.

The battle went on long and hard. I was cut, bruised, and scraped on every part of my body. It hurt like hell, but I couldn't stop the battle. Kessler had to die.

I scored a direct hit on Kessler with a shock grenade. Kessler stumbled and fell. He didn't get back up. I ran to him just in time to hear him seven words that shocked me more than when I discovered my powers.

"I love you, Trish..." Kessler gasped. "Please forgive me..."

"What the fuck do you know about Trish, Kessler?" I snarled.

He grabbed my face and started to show me images. It was just like the time he showed me images of the terrible future that was in store for Empire City. But this time, it was more peaceful. I saw myself. I saw myself marrying Trish, with Zeke as my best man. I saw him creating the Ray Sphere. I saw this monster he called The Beast whom he had strived to defeat.

When Kessler let go and died, I realized who he was.

Kessler was me.

He was my future self. He had come back in time to make me into the hero he never was. He accelerated the development of the Ray Sphere, and had me detonate it right here in this very spot so I would gain my powers early. He wanted me to destroy The Beast. I just didn't understand why millions of people had to die because of it.

"COLE!"

I ignored the call, knowing it was Nita. I had told her to stay in the house, but clearly she had no concern for her own safety. Besides, I couldn't take my eyes off my future self. I killed my future self.

I frowned. What the hell did that mean? Kessler had changed history, right? He had come back in time and made himself stronger earlier. He killed Trish, so I would never get to marry her. Not to mention I had killed him. Did that mean that in the future, I would go back in time and be killed by myself? No I didn't think so. I had no reason to do it. The only reason I would've done it would be to stop myself from detonating the Ray Sphere...

But what the hell would that mean? Trish would survive, I would marry her, and this thing Kessler called The Beast would be allowed to wreak havoc. This was making my head hurt in many horrible ways.

"Cole!"

I looked up. Nita had slid her way into ground zero. Unbelievable.

"I told you to stay in the house." I stated.

Nita narrowed her eyes. "When the light show stopped I came out to see if you were okay, and you harp on me for it?"

I sighed. "I'm overwhelmed, Nita. I didn't expect..." I looked down at Kessler again.

"Is that Kessler?" She asked.

"Yes." I stated.

Nita examined him carefully. She shivered slightly for a second and then she froze. "Cole..." She looked from Kessler to me and back to Kessler. So she could see it. "He looks...Like you...Only a lot older..."

"He was my future self."

Nita's jaw dropped.

"It's hard to explain." I stated. "I don't even understand it myself, so don't expect an explanation."

Nita gave me an angry pout.

"I'm getting out of here." I stated. I headed towards the edge of the crater. I left Kessler lying where he was. I didn't know what to do with him. He was evil, and yet he was me. I was so confused.

...

It's been three days since I killed Kessler. There was still no sign of evil Cole. I didn't know what to think of it. All I really knew was that I had to kill him as well. Although, I didn't think I could take another one of those stupid time travelling bullshitting where this guy happened to be another one of my future selves.

I'd been hiding from Nita too. I just didn't quite know what to do about her. I was sitting beside Trish's grave again, hoping I would hear her voice in my head guiding me in some kind of direction. Because man, I needed a little guidance right now. Especially after the Kessler shit.

"I thought I'd find you here."

I closed my eyes and sighed. She always tracked me down. It never failed.

Nita sat down beside him. "So this is Trish."

I didn't respond.

"Well well, looks like Cole's got a new girlfriend."

I whipped up faster than I could register. There he was. Evil Cole. As I stared at the evil, twisted grin on his face, something hit me at that moment. My eyes widened.

"No...You can't be..." I whispered.

"Ah, so Kessler told you, huh?" Evil me asked. "I was stunned to see that you had killed him."

I shook my head slowly. "Nita. Run. Now. Get the hell out of here."

"Cole-"

"I SAID GO! NOW!"

"Cole! I won't!"

Evil Cole grinned. "Oh I think you should listen to him, sweetheart. I'm not a very nice man."

I leapt at him, knocking him off his perch and onto the concrete.

"COLE!"

"GET OUT OF HERE, NITA!"

He sent a lightning bolt into my chest. I flew backwards and landed on the tarmac painfully. I jumped up as quickly as I could and began to fight him. Crimson electricity sparked out of every pore on his body. I knew who this was. I had seen him in Kessler's memories. This was The Beast. _I_ was The Beast.

But how was this happening?

We leapt onto the rail road tracks and ground down the metal, trading blows as we went. His power had increased dramatically. I was having a hard time keeping the damage off me. A powerful blow sent me flying off the tracks and onto the ground. I rolled a few times before getting back to my feet. I realized where we were. We were right by the wharf, surrounded on three sides by pure salt water.

"Did you have an epiphany or what, Cole?" He taunted.

"You're The Beast..." I whispered.

"Very good, Cole."

"But why?"

The Beast raised an eyebrow. "Why?" He grinned. "I'm you, Cole MacGrath. This is what you would've become had you taken the path of evil." His grin disappeared off his face and he gritted his teeth, breathing heavily. "Imagine being the thing you had set out to destroy..."

I swallowed. "How is this happening? Why are you here?"

"Why am I here?" The Beast grinned again. "I'm here to fuck up everything you've done. I'm here to fulfill my destiny as The Beast!" Power exploded from his body. Red electricity poured from every part of his body, cocooning him in raw energy. "See this, Cole?" The Beast laughed. "This is the power you would've had if you had activated the Ray Sphere!"

Shit that was a lot of power...

He disappeared in a blur. I had barely enough time to move out of the way as he appeared behind me and aimed a kick at me. The Beast laughed and countered easily, slamming hit after hit into my already bruised and battered body.

I collapsed to the ground, violently coughing up blood. The Beast kicked me again, rolling me onto my back. He jumped on top of me and grabbed my throat. My eyes widened as I realized what he was going to do. He was going to drain the electrical energy from my body. I could only imagine the power that would give him.

"Time to say bye bye, Cole." He grinned. "I hope this hurts a lot."

I screamed, fighting against his grip. It wasn't working. I felt myself fading away into nothing.

"COLE!"

No...It was Nita.

_SPLASH!_

My eyes widened. The Beast screamed in agony at the water that had been dumped right across his back. Nita stood there, holding a now empty bucket.

"Stupid bitch!" The Beast swung for Nita. I hooked my foot around his ankle and yanked him to the ground.

"GO!" I ordered Nita.

Nita didn't waste any time running. I was grateful for what she had done. She had saved me. If it wasn't for her, I would've died and The Beast would've been free to terrorize Empire City. To destroy it. To destroy the world if he wanted to.

I couldn't let that happen.

I wrestled with him on the ground. The Beast threw me off him. I realized at that moment that his power had dropped considerably since the water had been dumped on him. Again, another reason to thank Nita later.

The two of us traded more blows before I caught his fist and he caught one of mine. The battle we now had was a battle of strength. It was right by the end of the wharf too. If I threw him into the water, he would die. But if he threw me in, I would die.

I channelled electricity through my hand and into his fist. He cried out recoiling backwards. I felt totally euphoric at the sight of the smoke billowing from his knuckles. Score one for the hero.

The Beast lunched at me. I dodged out of the way the same way he always had whenever we had our fluke fights.

"What's the matter, Cole?" The Beast asked. "Too tough for ya?"

I leapt away one last time. My heart nearly stopped at the sight of the red electricity beginning to build up again. That's right. The water would dry out eventually. I had to end this quickly.

The Beast latched onto me, putting me into a choke hold. "How would you like to go for a swim, Cole?" He whispered.

I gritted my teeth and fought against him. He kicked me hard in the back, sending me forward.

"Have a nice swim, Cole!" The Beast laughed.

I turned around to see a massive shockwave whip in my direction. My eyes widened as it slammed into me. Hard. And boy did I fly. I flew right over the railing, sailing towards the salt water in the bay.

"COLE!" I faintly heard Nita scream. Or maybe it was Trish. I couldn't figure out who it was.

The world was moving in slow motion. All I could see was The Beast's grinning face as I plummeted towards my death.

No.

Absolutely not.

Power sparked from my hands, up my arms and across my chest. I raised my hands, and clenched my fists. My muscles strained and I screamed as the power just...Overwhelmed me.

A massive bolt of lightning shot from the sky and slammed into the bay. The water boiled, and sprayed three hundred and sixty degrees in every direction except up or down. A massive hole in the water itself was created, and I landed on the bottom of the bay. I charged my power up again and thrust my hands forward. The water parted in massive waves left, right and ahead of me, creating a tsunami over the wharf. I had parted the sea as if I was Moses, and boy did I take advantage of it.

I ran across the new turf I had created, the water closing back in behind me. I leapt back onto the wharf and ran towards The Beast. His eyes were wider than saucers. I couldn't tell whether it was fear, or surprise. I didn't bother analyzing his expressions. I slammed into him, full force. We both went flying, rolling down the tarmac violently. I broke away from him, rolling solo that way I could deliver another hit. The railing into the bay was at my right. If I could just hurl him in, I was golden. I didn't think I could pull another miracle like I did before, so I would have to get him into the bay first.

I rolled to my feet just as The Beast stumbled towards me with a furious cry. He grabbed onto the front of my shirt and with a burst of superhuman strength, he lifted me up. I could hear the stitches in the fabric protesting at the weight as he flung me towards the water.

I too had the same idea and just as he threw me, I latched onto the front of his shirt. The Beast's eyes widened and he tried to pry my hands off as I flew over the railing. He slammed into it with a grunt and I used my grip on him to my advantage. He grabbed my hand and attempted to throw me off him. His other hand pressed against my face, trying to push me away. He was so strong. I knew I wouldn't be able to get back on land. This was the only way.

I let go of the railing and grabbed his shirt with my other hand. With both hands on his shirt, I gained the leverage I needed to complete my plan.

"If I swim, you swim with me." I growled. Then I bent backwards, pushing myself off the railing with my feet, keeping a grip on The Beast the whole time. I launched him right over my head, further out into the bay as I plummeted headfirst into the deadly salt water.

My body exploded with agony. It was like thousands of knives were stabbing into my body all at once. I screamed, a stream of bubbles pouring from my mouth. I could taste the salt water. It tasted like my tears the day Trish died.

Trish...I'd be with her soon.

I surfaced just for a second. My blurry vision catching sight of a girl I thought I knew. I heard her scream my name as I fell back into the water. I couldn't breathe...Couldn't think...

I closed my eyes, and everything went black.

**A/N: (SPOILER) Just saying something really quick. Originally when I was writing this story, I wanted to play around with the karma system and make a story out of it. But then about halfway through, I had a really odd thought. What if evil Cole MacGrath **_**was **_**The Beast? For some reason, nothing in my mind rejected the idea. In fact, it almost supported it, as if Cole MacGrath actually was The Beast in the evil karma plot line. So I looked it up on inFAMOUS wiki, and sure enough, Cole MacGrath becomes The Beast at the end of the evil story in inFAMOUS 2. That's basically the only spoiler for inFAMOUS 2. I still haven't played the game, but I hope to do so in the not too distant future.**


	10. Chapter 10: A New Beginning

Blue Amps, Crimson Volts

Chapter 10: A New Beginning

"COLE!" Nita shrieked the second she saw him falling towards the water, dragging his identical, red lightning twin in with him. Cole hit first, sinking straight down, the water around him sparking with blue electricity. Massive red sparks were shooting out of the water where his twin had landed. They stopped within seconds. Nita assumed that meant he was dead.

And that meant Cole wasn't too far behind.

Nita rushed to the edge of the wharf just as Cole's head broke the surface. Burns covered his face, and his eyes were glazed and distant.

"COLE!" She screamed.

Cole sunk back under the water. The electrical sparks went out a second later.

"HELP!" Nita cried. "Somebody help!"

Concerned citizens who had seen the battle rushed over. Nita stared at where Cole had disappeared. He wasn't coming back up. She no longer cared for her safety. Nita leapt into the water, searching for Empire City's hero. Her eyes burned from the salt water, but she ignored it. She found him drifting eerily in the dark water, not moving. Nita latched onto him and dragged him to the surface.

"HELP!" She screamed again, sinking further into the water with the weight of Cole.

Several citizens threw a rope down to her. Nita grabbed on to it and the citizens hauled her out of the water. She didn't know where this strength had come from. She was supporting both hers and Cole's weight with one arm. Her arm burned like nothing she had ever felt before, but she was more worried about Cole who wasn't moving at all.

Nita dropped Cole onto the concrete. "COLE! You've got to wake up, Cole! COLE!"

Cole didn't move. His eyes were closed. Everything about him looked peaceful, save for the horrible burns all over his body.

"GET A MEDIC!" Someone screamed. The citizens split into two groups. One half stayed with her and Cole, and the other half charged for the nearby clinic.

Nita pulled off Cole's soaked shirts and dragged him out of the puddle they had left and onto drier ground. "Cole!" She kept crying. "Cole! Wake up! Please! You can't leave this city!"

Somebody threw a towel on Cole. Nita instantly began drying Cole off as best as she could. If he really did short circuit like an ordinary electronic, then she didn't think he could survive the damage. She had lost many electronics to water in her life. She didn't want to lose Cole too. Cole was a person. She could replace her iPod, or her cell phone. But she couldn't replace Cole.

The EMT's arrived at that moment. They pulled her protesting form away from Cole. Away from his body, Nita broke into a panic attack and fainted from the stress she was under. Two medics looked after her while the other two looked after Cole, trying to revive him. The crowd could only watch as the EMT's did everything from chest compressions to even risking screwing up their defibrillator.

In that short span of time, Empire City lost hope.

...

I was floating. I felt light as a feather. It was like I was flying. There was no gravity, no weight...No nothing really. I was just...floating in limbo.

Where was I?

_Cole?_

Trish? My eyes fluttered open. I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life.

White.

Everything was white. A brilliant light was shining down on my face, both familiar and comforting.

In my heart, I felt it was heaven. In my mind, I didn't know what the fuck was going on. One moment I was short circuiting in the bay, and now I was looking at this beautiful light...

Something silhouetted the brilliant light. It was somebody's face. I could tell it was a female. She looked familiar too.

"Trish?" I whispered.

_Cole?_

Something happened at that moment. The beautiful world started to fade away. It was as if hands had just grabbed me and were pulling me back to earth. No...I wanted to stay...I liked this place...

Nothing doing. The world went black all over again.

...

Nita jumped awake. When had she fallen asleep?

She looked at Cole lying pitifully in the hospital bed. He had barely been alive when he arrived here. He had life support systems keeping his heart beating and making him breathe. He was completely brain dead for the first twenty four hours. That broke Nita's heart. He was alive, but he wouldn't be waking up.

But then, something happened.

The machines started detecting brainwaves. Nita was stunned. When she looked at him, she could see his eyelids moving faintly. It was enough. He was alive. She called upon the doctors immediately, and they had this look of unbelievable relief on their face. One of them even started to cry.

Nita sighed.

A few hours later, they had taken him off his breathing tube. Sure enough, he could breathe on his own. You go, Cole. He was recovering! She had seen him wake up earlier today. His dark eyes were unfocused as he stared up at her. She had whispered his name several times to see how he would respond.

"Trish?" He had whispered.

Nita felt a pang in her heart. He still loved Trish. Then again, he could just think he was in heaven. His eyes closed not too long after that and he fell back into unconsciousness.

The burns on Cole's body had healed slowly. The worst ones were on his chest and down his arms. The doctors even said the energy had solidified the salt on his skin, forcing them to have to give him a delicate sponge bath to remove it. His skin was still dry and bumpy in places, but even those were slowly healing.

Cole was just amazing. There wasn't much else to it.

...

Nita continued to stay by Cole's side. He had been visited by many citizens giving him handmade cards and trinkets. One woman even came by with fresh flowers once. Nita asked her where she got them, and she said she owned a flower shop, and she grew her own flowers in a greenhouse.

Nita realized this was her breakthrough. She told the woman about her plan to build a vegetable garden for the city. She told her about the Hope Garden, and in that split second, everything fell into place. This woman would help her grow her garden. Her shop was all the way in the Neon, but that meant it was far away from the Blast, and her greenhouse was still intact. Nita had a feeling that her greenhouse would suit her plants better than her makeshift greenhouse and made plans to transport the vegetables to her greenhouse as soon as Cole woke up. The woman even offered to look after the vegetables while she was with Cole.

After she left that day, Cole woke up again. She heard him shift slightly.

"Cole?"

Cole's eyes fluttered open again, gazing up at her wearily.

"Trish?" He said again.

Nita didn't want to burst his bubble and tell him that it wasn't his lost love. So she merely smiled down at him.

To her surprise, he lifted his hand and touched her face. Nita held dead still, not wanting to break the spell. He lowered his hand after a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"You're not Trish." He whispered.

Wow. He caught on so fast.

Nita watched his eyes attempt to focus on her. After a second, realization seemed to dawn in his eyes.

"Nita." He whispered.

Her heart soared. He remembered her!

"How?" His eyelids started to flutter closed again.

"You'll be okay, Cole." Nita told him, taking his hand.

But he had already fallen asleep again.

...

Cole had been in the hospital for a week now. Trinkets and gifts were piling up on his bedside table, and Cole was still recovering slowly but surely.

The woman with the greenhouse was named Emma. She came by that day and seemed very happy with the work Nita had done. She even said she loved her little apple tree. She told Nita about how her tomato plant was growing like a mad thing, forcing her to have to tie it to a stick. The same thing was happening with the beans. Nita couldn't have been more happier with the news.

...

I woke up again to a very horrible feeling. It felt like something was squeezing my heart, making it beat when it wasn't supposed to. The feeling made it damn hard to breathe, not to mention it made me feel sick.

I put my hand on my chest and felt what I realized were cardiac pacemakers stuck to my chest. Their electricity kept sparking into my chest, making my heart beat for me. And damn, was it ever uncomfortable. Especially since I knew at that moment that my heart wanted to beat on its own now.

Wait a second...

I was _alive?_

My eyes snapped open, revealing a dark, silent hospital room. Holy shit. I was alive. My wide eyes scanned the room. It was obviously night time now. All of the lights were out, except for the ones that were monitoring my vital signs and various other random things I didn't care about.

But those damn pacemakers...

I lifted my hand to attempt to rid myself of the infernal contraptions, but I was stopped as IV tubes tugged at my hand. Not to mention everything hurt like hell.

A nurse stumbled into the room at that moment, her eyes wide. She gasped at the sight of me and took off. I could hear her calling for a doctor. She seemed to have known I had regained consciousness. I assumed that I was being given major VIP treatment here. I had a room all to myself, and hell. That nurse was probably my own personal nurse. She probably watched my vital signs via computer for every second of my stay.

The nurse ran back in, a doctor in tow. A familiar face followed in behind the doctor. It was Nita.

"How are you feeling, Cole?" The doctor asked.

Hmm...well first of all get this damned pacemaker off my chest before I break it. Next, I'm kind of hungry, I'm tired, and I'm in a lot of pain. Not to mention I don't even know how the hell I'm still alive, because I should've died. In a nutshell?

"Like hell." I stated.

As soon as the doctor checked me out, he removed the pacemakers. I was relieved when he did so, and when my heart rate didn't go haywire, he nodded in satisfaction.

"We were all worried about you, Cole." The doctor stated. "I can't wait to give the news that you're okay."

I looked away from him, staring at the wall. The doctor and nurse left. Nita walked around my bed and sat down in the nearby chair. I looked away from her too, focusing on the ceiling.

I heard a sob.

My head snapped towards Nita to see her face in her hands. Boy she cried a lot.

"I was so worried, Cole!" She sobbed. "I thought you were dead!"

"So did I." I stated.

She continued to cry. I put up with it for about ten seconds.

"Nita, stop crying."

"I can't!" She gasped. "I'm so happy, Cole!"

"Where's the other one?" I asked.

Nita looked up at me. "The other...?"

"The one with the red lightning."

"He's dead." Nita stated. She put her hands in her lap. "After you threw him in, I guess he had so much power he...well..."

I nodded.

"They recovered his body. It was burnt really badly. Worse than you were."

"How do you know I'm the real Cole?" I asked.

"Because I watched you go under. I saw the blue lightning around you before you disappeared. Besides, the other...he got thrown out further."

"How did I get out?"

"I pulled you out."

My eyes widened slightly.

"When the electricity stopped sparking, I jumped in after you."

I sighed and nodded. "Thank you, Nita."

"Cole, I wasn't going to leave you to die."

I shook my head. "Not just for pulling me out. For dumping water on him. I would've died if you hadn't done that. It cut his power level so I could defeat him easier."

Nita nodded. "I didn't really think. I just...did it."

"That was brave of you, Nita."

Nita flushed slightly, bowing her head. "I thought you would be mad at me."

"I can't be mad at someone for saving my life. Twice for that matter."

Nita grinned. "So I've officially repaid my debt, and now you're indebted to me."

"I don't think so. I stopped him from killing you after you dumped the water on him."

"Oh. I guess we're even then."

"Yes we are."

...

What can I say? I recovered slowly but surely. When I woke up the next morning, I noticed all of the gifts people had given me while I was in the hospital. There was a whole pile of cards which I read one by one. There were even a few children's' drawings of what sort of looked like me but sort of didn't with 'Electric Man' written underneath. There were some letters people had given me, voicing their thanks and encouragement for my swift return to action. There were more 'get well soon' cards than I could count.

Once all of the cards had been dealt with, I took the time to examine the odds and ends people had left me. There were a few carvings that someone had whittled out of wood, one of which was a lightning bolt. I held it in my hand a lot, rotating it this way and that. Someone was good. Really good. I could tell they had spent a lot of time on it.

Aside from all the carvings, also in my collection were coins that had been melted slightly and blackened by what I guessed was the Blast. A lot of random things had been gifted to me including what I guessed was a necklace with letter beads spelling 'COLE' on it.

Then there was that bouquet of flowers. Nita told me it had been a week since they were brought to him, so they were wilted. Even so, I could tell it had once been a beautiful bouquet.

"When she brought the flowers in," Nita began, "I was surprised that she had fresh flowers. She told me she had a greenhouse in the Neon, and she grew them because she used to sell flowers."

I nodded. There was something about the way here eyes were sparkling as she talked about this woman.

"Her name was Emma, and I told her about my Hope Garden." Nita stated. "She wants to help me grow it. She's giving me a spot in her greenhouse, and I told her as soon as you were better, we would move the plants over there."

I nodded slowly. "And you waited for me, why?"

Nita shrugged. "I just...don't want anything to happen to them. So just in case, I wanted you to help as well."

...

The next day, I pretty much got out of bed. I could move now and it didn't hurt much. The doctor was stunned at my healing abilities, but hey. I was a conduit. But they didn't need to know that.

I was released that day. I had all my gifts packed into my messenger bag as I walked out of the room. I stopped dead in my tracks as the hallway erupted with cheers. Huge lines of people, doctors, nurses, patients, civilians, all of them lined up along the walls outside my door. As I walked, wide-eyed by this development, the applause and cheers continued.

"Way to go, Cole!" Someone called.

"Yeah! You're the best!"

"You're a TANK!" I almost laughed at that one.

The massive lines of people went on and on, and then I walked out the front door. Again, I stopped dead in my tracks. Holy shit. That's all I can say to that. Hundreds, no thousands of people were gathered in front of the hospital. There wasn't an inch of space that wasn't filled by people. They were even hanging out windows and on roofs, waving flags. People sat on their cars, and anything they could just so they could see me step out of the hospital. I could see crude signs depicting slogans from 'COLE MACGRATH is our HERO' to 'HE'S ALIVE!'

Even I had to admit, I was touched by the gesture. I knew these people loved me, but I didn't know they loved me this much. They genuinely cared about me. If they didn't, they wouldn't be gathered outside the hospital like this, cheering for me.

The lines of people who had cheered me through the halls now came outside, lining up along the wall and around the stairs. I stepped further away from the hospital, towards the cheering crowd. I stopped when I realized I was in the middle of a massive circle of adoring people.

_Trish, _I thought. _Are you seeing this? How about you, mom and dad? Do you know what I've become?_

Then somebody lifted another person onto his shoulders. The crowd immediately went silent. The person who had been elevated started screaming at the crowd at the top of his lungs.

"**Who's the saviour of Empire City?**" He screamed.

"MACGRATH! MACGRATH!" The crowd chanted. I swear, it had been rehearsed.

"**Who's the man with electric powers?**"

"MACGRATH! MACGRATH!"

"**Who's this so called Electric Man?**"

"MACGRATH! MACGRATH!"

"**Who's going to help us take back our city?**"

"MACGRATH! MACGRATH!"

"**What's his name?**"

"COLE MACGRATH!"

And with that, the crowd stormed me. They surrounded me in seconds and lifted me high above their heads. I was carried by several people like I had scored the winning touchdown at a football game. The crowd cheered and followed the people who were carrying me. Some people lifted others onto their shoulders to they could high-five me. It was a massive parade through the streets of Empire City. I too got caught up in the euphoria. I forgot about everything that had happened since the Blast. I forgot about Trish, I forgot about Kessler. I forgot about The Beast, and hell, I even forgot all about Zeke and the Ray Sphere. That's why when I happened to meet him in the crowd, I couldn't find a way to be angry at him as he told me how sorry he was to my face. Instead I just told him to enjoy the party, because we would talk about it later.

And boy did we.

I finally snuck away from the celebration late at night. Zeke was waiting for me on the roof as always.

"Zeke, you know I can't forgive you for what you did." I told him.

Zeke sighed and bowed his head. "I know. I feel so bad for it, man. I mean..."

"Why did you want powers like mine?"

"Everybody loves you, Cole!" Zeke cried. "You're the big hero!"

"It's not easy being the hero, Zeke."

Zeke sighed. "I know it's not. But when you got your powers, it was like we weren't brothers anymore, you know?"

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"We've always been equal." Zeke stated. "So when you got your powers, it was like you got a one up on me. I felt inferior to you."

"That's no excuse for what you did, Zeke." I crossed my arms. "I saw what you tried to do. You tried to detonate the Ray Sphere up on that tower. You made the choice to kill thousands for your own selfish desire to be equal to me. Not to mention you ran off with Kessler who killed Trish."

Zeke hung his head.

"I can never forgive you for that, Zeke." I stated. "Because of that, I'm not your brother anymore." I turned and leapt off the building. Now that that was over with, I had to pay Nita a visit.

...

"Thanks for helping me out, Cole." Nita sighed, sitting down onto her couch.

I sat down beside her. "Hey, just trying to help the city." We had just finished transporting Nita's Hope Garden to Emma's greenhouse. When we arrived there the first time, I recognized Emma as the woman who had given me the flowers for Trish's grave.

"Have you started on your book yet?" I asked.

Nita sighed. "Yeah. Sort of. I just can't get any blank paper anywhere, so it's difficult."

I nodded.

"Cole?"

"Hm?"

Nita hesitated. "After...After Empire City is back to normal and the quarantine is taken down...What are you going to do?"

I stared at my thumbs for a few seconds. When everything was back to normal, would I still be Empire City's big hero? Hell, would the government even let me run free with these electrical powers?

"I don't know, Nita." I stated. I watched my electricity spark between my fingertips. When I found out I had survived my bath in salt water, one thought had gone through my mind several times. What if I literally had short circuited? What if my powers never worked again? I had to admit, thinking about that really haunted me. I was afraid of losing my powers. I was afraid of becoming a mere human being again. Yet at the same time, my powers had come as a curse. They had come with the detonation of the Ray Sphere, and the deaths of thousands of lives. Regardless, over time, I had gotten used to having them. I even grew to like them. All the things I could do; it was just...amazing. So when those thoughts of losing all of that entered my mind, I was scared to death.

When I found out I still had them, it was both a relief and a bit of concern. Relief because...well...I still had my powers. I was worried because at that moment I knew there was no getting rid of these powers. I would have them for the rest of my life. Blessing? Yeah, for Empire City it certainly was. But what about me? After Empire City was restored to its former glory, what the hell would happen to me?

Nita's question had raised more fears. I was scared for my future. I didn't know what was going to happen to me, and that feeling was frightening.

"Cole?"

I didn't respond.

Nita put her hand on my shoulder. She held it there for a second, then she wrapped her arms around me again, pulling me close. My mind wasn't a spin cycle of thoughts that time. Only the thoughts of my uncertain future occupied my mind.

"Let's not think about the future right now." Nita said softly. "After all, the city still needs you now, right?"

I pulled myself from her grasp. She let me go almost immediately which I was grateful for. She seemed to be picking up on my dislike for random, uncalled for hugs.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

I stopped and looked up at the ceiling for a moment. "I'm going..." How epic should I make this? I didn't know what to say. I wanted to say 'I'm going to help the city' but it sounded so damn lame.

I sighed. "You're right. The city does need me. That's why I'm going to help out with anything I can. Keep working on that garden, Nita."

Nita smiled. "I will!"

Nita always seemed to know just what to say. This time, it was no different. As I stepped back out onto the streets of the Historic District, I knew that at this point in time I shouldn't be worrying about the future. I should be worrying about now. And right now, Empire City needed its hero.


End file.
